homeauto NewsMahindra Group's automotive division reports strong sales and robust demand, anticipates continued growth
Mahindra Group's automotive division reports strong sales and robust demand, anticipates continued growth
In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, Veejay Nakra, President of the Automotive Division at Mahindra Group, highlighting the continued strength of auto sales across Mahindra Group's diverse portfolio, shared insights into the current state and future plans of the company's automotive business.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, Veejay Nakra, President of the Automotive Division at Mahindra Group, shared insights into the current state and future plans of the company's automotive business.
Highlighting the continued strength of auto sales across Mahindra Group's diverse portfolio, Nakra said, "I think strong entry from the last couple of months, every month the number has been higher than the previous number. Last month was 37,000 plus very strong numbers."
"As we get into September, the numbers continue to look strong couple of reasons. One, the demand continues to be strong across the portfolio. Whether we talk about Scorpio as a family, Scorpio and Scorpio classic, you talk about XUV700, Thar, the number of bookings continued to be extremely strong," he added.
Despite challenging market conditions, he said, the company has seen robust demand for its vehicles, with month-on-month (MoM) cancellations remaining low, hovering at the 6-8 percent range. Furthermore, fresh bookings have been pouring in, with figures ranging between 48,000 to 50,000.
"So as we get into the festive season, the booking pipeline is strong that's one.
Number two, on the supply side, I think over the last six months, they're about every month, we have been able to manage the supply chain better. So as we get into festive seasons, August has been a month where we have been able to demonstrate a very strong supply chain feeding into production.
The third one is the capacity of 39,000 is already available. So I think with all these three factors playing out, we believe that the festive season should be a strong one for us," he added.
Addressing the issue of waiting periods for Mahindra SUVs, Nakra indicated that there hasn't been a significant reduction yet. However, the company has concrete plans to tackle this challenge. By the end of the current quarter, Mahindra intends to increase the production capacity for its popular models, including the Scorpio, XUV700, and Thar, to 10,000 units per month for each model.
Looking ahead to 2024, he said the company plans to launch a new XUV300 and a 5-door variant of the Thar. "December 2024 is when we will come out with our first born electric vehicle...December 2024, so I think the calendar year will see these launches as we move into the year," he added.
However, Nakra also acknowledged certain headwinds in the market, particularly in the price range of Rs 8-10 lakh. These challenges have been attributed to an erratic monsoon, which has impacted entry-level sales and demand, primarily in rural areas.
Despite these challenges, Nakra emphasised that rural markets continue to play a significant role in Mahindra's sales, accounting for 52 percent of total sales, with the remaining 48 percent coming from urban areas.
First Published: Sept 12, 2023 7:13 PM IST
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