Mahindra & Mahindra Becomes the No:2 Commercial Vehicle Maker replacing Ashok Leyland

According to the SIAM's(Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturer) data, Mahindra has replaced Ashok Leyland in the no: 2 spot of the Indian commercial vehicle market. The Tata Motors however retains its no:1 position. Through this achievement, Mahindra&Mahindra has added another feather to its cap.



The Indian Commercial vehicle industry has undergone a lot of ups and downs in the past 12 months due to a sales drop in the medium and heavy truck range and increase in pick-up range.

As per the SIAM data, M&M's April-February tally (including Navistar range as well as Maxximo, Gio, Genio and Bolero pick-up) stands at 1,67,588 units while the ALL's April-February sales, including the Dost LCV, stand at 1,00,592 units. Both of these data excludes the exports.

The Ashok Leyland(ALL) spokesman said, "Ashok Leyland is still the 2nd biggest with a market share of 26.1%" in that segment.” ALL does not include Dost - which comprises 30,592 units in the April-February period - in its sales tally because it is a JV product. "Dost has already achieved leadership position in most markets where it operates" he added.



In the current fiscal, there found a sharp drop in India's medium and heavy commercial vehicle range. In the April-February period, the total CV sales dropped 22% with the 25.2-31.2 tonne multi-axle vehicle(MAV) and highest sales drop is found in 30-49 tonner multi-axle trailers. Sales in both those segment fell around 27% each. In the month February, the 30-49 tonner segment saw sales drop of 42.2% while the MAV segment was down over 38%.

Pawan Goenka, president, auto & FES division, M&M, said, "M&M is now present in virtually all segments of commercial vehicles, which includes three-wheelers, small CVs, pick-ups, LCV and HCV." He further added, "We have plans to continue to launch new products or major product refreshes in all segments. The slowdown in the medium and heavy commercial segment is temporary we feel and if anything our focus on medium and heavy commercial vehicle will get stronger. We will focus on growing our presence in all key markets in this segment."



The ALL company spokesman said, "will be on expanding and enhancing the M&HCV range while, at the same time, work with JV partner, Nissan Motor Company, to enhance the LCV portfolio. The pace of new product investment has been accelerated to help customers maintain or improve profitability, as they deal with rising fuel costs."

Currently no one in the CV business is expecting any improvement in the near future. ALL spokesman said, "The CV Market is very much linked to the GDP. The entire CV industry hopes for some government-initiated stimuli to give the economy a badly needed fillip and thereby improve overall sentiments”

"Several commercial vehicle manufacturers have pushed their inventories to their dealers by increasing the vehicle stocks significantly," said SP Singh, senior fellow, Indian Foundation of Transport Research & Training.