M&M expects pickup segment to grow at 16%

Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Friday said that the company was hoping to double the growth rate of the pickup vehicles segment to 15-16 percent annually in the near future.

The company said that growth in the segment has been slow off late but with the launch of its ?next generation? pickup truck Genio, M&M was confident of driving up the entire segment?s annual growth figures from its current 5-6 percent.

Mahindra, India’s largest utility vehicles maker, are market leaders in the pickup category with 75 percent share, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Vivek Nayer said. India?s pickup segment sells 85,000 units annually, according to the company.

?The growth has been quite slow in this segment, but we expect to create an almost entirely new market with Genio and extend the sector,? Nayer said.

The 1.25-tonne pickup truck, priced at Rs 5.05 lakh (ex-showroom West Bengal), was launched in Kolkata on Friday.

The truck will available in 70 of its dealerships from Friday and will see a pan-India launch by mid-February.

?With this vehicle, we are targeting an entirely new user base, the captive segment ? people who will own this vehicle instead of hiring a truck at Rs 300,? Nayer said.

The company too is positioning the truck as performance pickup that is high on the style quotient. With plush interiors, superior cab design and car-like comfort, Mahindra is banking on the platform to do well and crate its own niche.

?We are also looking at coming up with a double cab design ? one that will have two rows of seats ? sometime in the future,? Nayer said.

The company said it intends to export the Genio in about six months. SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and African nations were on the top of its list for potential markets, officials said.

M&M has poured in Rs 225 crore for the truck?s design and manufacturing and it ships from its facility in Chakan, Maharshtra, which has a monthly capacity of 2,000 units which can be ramped up, Nayer said.

?We have priced the product very aggressively and coupled with its style and performance we are sure that it will appeal to young people,? Subir Bhadury, Deputy General Manager – Sales, said.

?Since we are the market leaders, the game for us is not just increase our share but to actually strengthen the segment,? he added.