Mahindra International, the 51:49 joint venture between the Mahindra Group and International of the US, has been renamed as Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd. (MNAL), while Mahindra’s JV with International for manufacturing engines will be named Mahindra Navistar Engines Ltd.
MNAL is setting up its manufacturing facility in Chakan, near Pune, and will roll out its M&HCV; trucks by the last quarter of 2009. The new JV will manufacture a range of trucks starting from 3.5 tonne to 49 tonne GVW, says Mr. Rakesh Kalra, CEO of MNAL.
The JV agreement was originally signed in November 2005, and the plan was to roll out trucks by the end of 2007. But there was considerable delay in acquiring the land from the Government. “From the time the land was handed over, we have made very good progress on the project, and we are confident that we will be able to roll out our trucks by end of 2009”, says Mr. Kalra.
Mr. Rakesh Kalra joined MNAL in 2007 and had the major responsibility of establishing a brand name in the commercial vehicle segment before launching its M&HCV; range. In the last 18 months the emphasis was clearly on the company’s current range of LCVs, both in the passenger and cargo segments, and ensure that it has the distribution channel in place and also serve the existing customers.
The company efforts have paid off. In the recent customer satisfaction survey done by TNS for the LCV segment, MNAL has been the voted the second best, just a few points below Tata Motors. This is a great achievement considering the fact that this is the first time that Mahindra vehicles have been included in the survey. Mr. Kalra is extremely happy with the way things are progressing.
MNAL is currently operating through the dealerships of Mahindra Automotive Sector. The company has been able to increase proliferation of spare parts across all major markets, which becomes very important from the after-sales and service point of view. The objective is to take care of the existing customers and ensure that by the time the M&HCV; range gets launched in the market, there is better acceptance of MNAL’s range of commercial vehicles. The company is also looking at establishing an independent sales and service network.
Currently MNAL is striving to consolidate its position in the LCV segment, both passenger and cargo. It registered a growth of 20 per cent and in 2007-08 by selling 11,000 LCVs, which is an equal mix of both passenger and cargo vehicles. MNAL has strengthened its position in the school bus segment. Today the product range in passenger segment includes 16, 25, 32 and 41-seater buses.
Another important area of focus, Mr. Kalra says, is the CNG segment. With many cities and States taking to CNG as an alternate fuel, the company clearly sees an opportunity for CNG vehicle. It has already launched the CNG passenger version and will very soon launch the CNG cargo version as well.
In terms of markets, MNAL which has been traditionally strong in Tamil Nadu and Kerala has now strengthened its presence in the other southern States of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The company has also enlarged its presence in the North, particularly in markets like UP.
Updating the new plant coming up in Chakan, Mr. Kalra says: “We are moving very swiftly forward according to our plans. The plant is an integrated facility which is coming up in Chakan which also includes the engine plant. We are confident of achieving close to 100% indigenisation on all our vehicles”.
