Mahindra & Mahindra has seen sales of its 2-3.5 tonne pickups cross the one-lakh unit mark annually for the first time.
The company wrapped up 2012-13 with nearly 1.03 lakh units, a 40 per cent jump from 73,000 vehicles in the preceding fiscal. It is also the clear leader in this product category with a market share of 55 per cent in FY’13.
Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, told
Overall industry sales were 1.10 lakh vehicles in FY ’12 and soared to 1.9 lakh last fiscal. The M&M range includes the Genio, Bolero Pick up and (Bolero) Maxi Truck. Their chief rival products include the Super Ace, 207 and Xenon from Tatas and the recently launched Dost from Ashok Leyland. In addition, Pune-based Force Motors has its Trump 40 and Kargo King in this space.
“The 2-3.5 tonne pickups meet the ideal load requirements for specific end-users and are the best bet for intra-city transport options,” Shah says. M&M has focused on a customer-centric approach which includes easy availability of spares and after-sales service. These are critical for tier II and III centres which are the growth engines for these pickups.
Unlike medium and heavy commercial vehicles which are witnessing their worst slowdown in recent times, this product category offers a much lower cost of ownership.
The rapid growth, according to Shah, can also be attributed to the fact that an upward movement from the 2-tonne segment is only natural. Likewise, the next transition will happen from here to the 4-tonne plus category.
M&M also believes that ‘pioneering products’ in the pickup space like the Genio have contributed to the growth story. Features like air-conditioning and fuel options such as CNG have also helped the company stay ahead.
Shah is only too aware that as other rival products enter this space, the pickup arena will become more challenging.
Will this fiscal see similar breathtaking growth for these pickups? Industry observers believe it will be more in the range of 35 per cent. “It is unrealistic to expect 70 per cent in a single year as was the case in FY ’13. We expect overall numbers to be over 2.5 lakh units by the end of this fiscal,” they say.