Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd’s trucks and bus division is looking to double its market share to 7 per cent by 2020. The company is also working at strengthening its commercial vehicle portfolio by launching products in the 8 to 16 tonne category next year.
M&M currently makes commercial vehicles in the 3.5 to 7 tonne segment and the 25 to 49 tonne truck category.
“We are working on three platforms to launch vehicles in the 8 to 16 tonne category. They will be launched in 2018,” Rajan Wadhera, President and Chief Executive, Truck and Powertrain Division, M&M, said at a press meet here.
The intermediate commercial vehicle segment is dominated by Eicher Motors and Tata Motors and it will not be easy for M&M to gain market share rapidly. “With the ICV, we will fill the existing gaps and have the widest range of commercial vehicles,” he said.
Mahindra is also a small player in the trucks and bus division, which is dominated by Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. “We are going to invest several hundred crores for our trucks and bus range. It is an important investment for us,” Wadhera said.
Currently, M&M has buses in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) range only, where it has 9 per cent market share. “We are looking at growing from 9 per cent to 13 per cent by 2020,” he said. The company does not have buses in the MCV range, a gap it may plug later. “We will see to it as we move ahead,” he added.
M&M Managing Director Pawan Goenka said the company’s three main planks were globalisation, technology development and customer intimacy. “We can’t be behind technology at any level. It is an important area for us. And we want to do things and create products to have a robust ecosystem around our customers,” he said.
The company had reported net sales growth of 1.16 per cent at ₹10,586 crore in the third fiscal quarter compared to ₹10464.51 crore year-ago period.