Mahindra and Mahindra will soon bring in a CNG variant of the newly refreshed Bolero pickup flat bed - the flagship brand in its pickup portfolio - that has been launched in some markets across the country and will be rolled out pan-India over the next couple of weeks.

“There are a only a couple of markets in India where CNG vehicles ply, and we will soon launch a CNG version of this model,” Vivek Nayer, Chief Marketing Officer, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd, said.

The company already has CNG variants in the older version of the Bolera pickup (which will soon be phased out), as well as in the Bolero Maxi truck, but has no plans as of now to bring it in the Genio, the third member in its pickup range.

PICKUPS BUCK AUTO TREND

In a scenario where virtually every segment in the auto industry has witnessed a decline, the pickup segment in the country has effectively bucked the trend to grow 17 per cent in the first half year of FY 14.

The segment, which as per SIAM definition consists of vehicles from 2 to 3.5 tonnes gross weight (including payload), has seen 26 per cent CAGR over the last 10-odd years.

For M&M, the growth in this segment has been 19 per cent year-on-year in H114, and typically 60 per cent of all its pickup sales come from rural or semi-urban markets. Asked whether he expected the growth trend to continue in the second half of the fiscal, Nayer said he was “cautiously optimistic”.

The two lakh unit per annum strong pickup market in India is dominated by three large players. M&M says it has 58 per cent of the share, with Tata Motors following at around 27 per cent and Ashok Leyland making up the rear-guard.