Mahindra & Mahindra on Wednesday launched two tractors in the high horsepower segment, which were built on a new platform developed in-house.
The 52 and 57 HP Mahindra Arjun Novo tractors, priced in the range of ₹ 7.15 lakh to ₹7.35 lakh , were launched at the Mahindra Research Valley, the group’s R&D facility located about 45 km south of Chennai, where over 100 engineers worked on creating the new platform.
Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, said the new series, Mahindra Arjun Novo DI-i, will replace its present offering, the Arjun 605DI.
The new platform, essentially a modern, high-powered engine and transmission, enables the company to manufacture tractors of 48 HP to 75 HP. The largest capacity available in the domestic market now is 60 HP. But this segment is growing fast and the company has positioned itself well to tap the growing market.
In 2005, the company sold over 2,300 Arjun tractors when large tractors accounted for about 4 per cent of the industry sales. Today, it sells 20,000 in the segment estimated at about 16 per cent of the market.
The launch also expands its presence across various capacities of tractors beginning from 20-30 HP range of Swaraj tractors, Goenka said.
The company has a capacity to make 900 tractors a day across half-a-dozen units. Its latest production facility in Telangana makes about 100 units a day.
Agri vertical The company sees significant opportunities in tractor-drawn implements, self propelled equipment such as transplanters and harvesters and the agri-business vertical, Goenka said.
Mahindra will expand production of agriculture implements, an area now dominated by the unorganised sector. It will make implements such as rotavators used for land preparation and transplanters.
This business now contributes about ₹300 crore annually, but the company sees a potential that will exceed over ₹10,000 crore in the next few years. Similarly, the agri-business vertical consisting of seeds business, micro irrigation equipment and fruit and vegetables sourcing, which accounts for about ₹250 crore, will now grow manifold, he said.