Automotive major Mahindra & Mahindra seems to be enjoying the solo drive with Verito sedan.
It has notched up significant volumes in the last two years since it decided to go it alone after a severance arrangement with its French automotive major venture partner Renault.
The company has closed last financial year with 17,839 Veritos, reflecting a growth of 88 per cent over previous year. Significantly, 95 per cent of Verito buyers are now personal owners with barely five per cent sales coming from the cab segment.
Mr Vivek Nayar, Senior Vice-President, Marketing, M&M, said, “That this volume of 18,000 accounts for a tenth of total sales in Super Compact segment as defined by SIAM, a segment dominated by Indigo CS and Maruti Dzire. Both feature shorter boots and qualify for lower excise duty.”
“The company is working on the sub-four metre sedan and expects to roll it out during this year. That is when we will see a significant boost to the overall volumes. We had showcased an electric variant of Verito at the New Delhi Auto Show in January and also offer a CNG version for metro cities,” he said.
The company is also working on a compact version of its sports utility vehicle Xylo and its President, Dr Pawan Goenka, had indicated that it could be rolled out during the festival season.
BOOT-CUT OR LIPO-SUCTION
This is a boot-cut or lipo-suction with a difference that seems to be working wonders for automakers in India.
It is not for trousers or to reduce fab in human beings but to chop off the length of sedans aimed to take advantage of the excise duty structure for cars based on their overall length.
All cars below four metres attract 12 per cent against 22 per cent above that dimension. In effect, sub-four metre sedans are cheaper by Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.
Given the volumes these offer, several other automotive companies are looking at this segment.
The cost cut enables a new entrant to graduate to a sedan. Tata Motors is considering to replicate the success it achieved with Indigo CS with Manza, its larger sedan as well as another company, which takes pride for its spacious car, according to sources.