Mahindra & Mahindra is gearing up for a busy 2015-16 which will see three brand new platforms, three variants and three major refreshes in the first nine months.

“We will have a strong range of products in the SUV segment which will get us back to the kind of market share we have always enjoyed,” Pawan Goenka, Executive Director and President (Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors), said in a recent interview.

From his point of view, the company has strong brands in the form of the Bolero, Scorpio, XUV 500 and pickups which are doing very well.

Untapped segment “The only problem is that growth in the industry is coming from a segment (compact SUVs) where we do not have a product,” says Goenka.

This void will be filled in the coming months with two offerings that will take on established models like the Renault Duster and Ford EcoSport.

Goenka brushes off talk on pressure from rivals and M&M facing greater headwinds in the market. “Sure, we had a 55 per cent market share at one point but there is no way any single player in a competitive scenario can enjoy that kind of share.

Brand building It has to come down once more players enter the scene,” he says, reiterating that the company will continue to lead the SUV stakes with its vast range of products.

M&M has constantly reiterated that it will focus on a host of mobility solutions ranging from two-wheelers to trucks. Goenka admits that building a new brand is a challenge but is confident that the company has a good offering in trucks and two-wheelers. “The issue is to get people looking at Mahindra as a two-wheeler/truck brand which will take time. We are prepared and confident of getting there,” he says.

Fortunately, truck volumes are beginning to pick with industry also seeing a revival over the last 8-9 months. Goenka also believes the company has good products in its two-wheeler portfolio though there are not enough customers yet. “Our job is to get those buyers into the Mahindra fold of two-wheelers and we are beginning to see that a brand cannot cut across all segments automatically,” he says.

Yet, it is important for M&M to look beyond tractors and SUVs to build a base for the next stage of growth. From its point of view, the core growth area today comprises SUVs and tractors but it is hard to say if this (core) will be adequate 10 years from now.

“We need to create other options and out of five things that we are working on, perhaps two will become part of that core,” says Goenka. Whether these could be trucks, two-wheelers or electric cars remains to be seen but clearly more things are needed in the pipeline in order to grow the core.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW