The next time you drive out of your city, you might pass through a swanky new showroom, and you could well mistake it for an Audi or BMW outlet. No, it’s the all-new Mahindra Navistar truck dealership. A total of 35 such dealerships have been set up in all major cities and trucking centers across India and another 35 are under construction.“OK is no longer OK”, has been the famous tagline of MNAL, and from the very beginning the company is attempting to revolutionize the Indian trucking industry by challenging the norms. For the first time in the truck Industry, MNAL has initiated a Corporate Identity Program to create a uniform dealership identity and experience to ensure that the dealerships remain benchmarks for the commercial vehicle industry.
This is just one of the many ways by which MNAL is trying to differentiate itself from competitors. The commercial vehicle industry is going through a very interesting phase. In the next couple of years, it will become a level playing field, where all manufacturers will offer similar products, with very limited scope for product differentiation. Factory-built cabs, higher hp power engines, more efficient aggregates will all become a standard feature on Indian trucks. What is going to be different is the after-sales and service support that manufacturers offer. This includes quality of service, availability of spares, overall maintenance cost, driver training, highway breakdown service and driver helplines. All these will be key differentiators in the industry, and these are precisely the areas which MNAL is working on.
Within six months of launch, MNAL truck sales have crossed the 1,000-mark. The company has set an ambitious sales target of 50,000 HCVs and 20,000 LCVs in the next three-four years time. The current product range includes an MN25 6X2 haulage truck, MN25 tipper, MN31 8X2 haulage truck and an MN40 tractor. All these trucks are fitted with 210 hp MAXXFORCE engines. MN 40 comes with an electronic 260 HP option. The company is planning to launch a 25 tonner 6X4 heavy duty mining tipper and a 49 tonne tractor for ODC application, both fitted with 260 hp engine, by the end of the current year.
MNAL has established a full-fledged application group to look into various applications. The company is planning to offer chassis specifically suited for applications like tankers, bulkers, concrete mixers and other special applications.
Mr. Mehta says: “A few things have got established in the market. First is durability, thanks to the robustness of the design, manufacturing and testing procedure. Many of our initial trucks have now crossed 100,000 km. Customers have not faced any major issues with the vehicle. Second is the cabin comfort. We have huge advantage in the cabin. Drivers have given a thumbs-up to our cabins. Our cabs are helping improve driver efficiency. Third is fuel efficiency, our engines are doing very well even under overloading conditions. Overall, our truck specs are designed to provide faster turnaround time, which is evident from the feedback we received from our customers. Customers are earning more from our truck, and we are helping them out-perform”.
After-sales support
MNAL has clearly understood the importance of a very efficient and effective after-sales service support right from day one. It has established NOW, a 24/7 toll-free helpline service, which has been the highlight of the journey so far.
Mr. Mehta observes: “Our call centre is one initiative which has caught the attention of our customers. It is backed by engineers, more importantly multi-lingual engineers. A driver speaking in Tamil, getting reply in the same language by a technical person who understands the problem, makes a big difference. This gives huge comfort to the driver.”
Within just six months of launch, MNAL has established 35 sales-service-spares dealerships across the country. The target is to have 100 dealerships in the next 18 months. Apart from the 3S facilities, the company has tapped the existing Mahindra automotive division network to set up over 220 authorized service centres (ASCs), which will have trained mechanics and spares. These ASCs, mapped and connected with the company’s helpline, can undertake warranty repairs, service and breakdown repairs.
In addition to the ASCs, the company has 29 mobile workshops. These are typically built on an HCV chassis equipped with spare parts and washing bay and are equipped to handle servicing of key aggregates. Each mobile workshop is backed by parts availability, and all these mobile workshops are mapped and connected with the helpline. It established nine fast response centers for spare parts and is able to reach parts within a few hours anywhere in India.
It doesn’t end there. MNAL has tied up with MyTVS to provide highway roadside assistance. The company already has 454 road-side assistance mechanics who are all company trained. Their role is to provide emergency roadside assistance. They are also connected to the call centre. They are now able to reach a stranded truck in a few hours. “We have managed 700 to 800 touch points within months of our launch. Our plan is to have 100 3S (sales-service-spares) dealerships, 330 + authorized service centers and 950 road-side assistance in the next 18 months”, adds Mr. Mehta.
Driver training
“As an organization the company is helping its customers to outperform. Starting with the bigger industry issue, driver shortage, it has started a driver training program. But it’s not just training drivers but trying to find out ways to improve their efficiency. Accordingly, a cabin has been designed to provide the highest levels of comfort and safety, which will result in improved productivity.
MNAL has trained 800 drivers so far at its training centre in Pune. With increasing demand the company is planning to open regional driver training centers.
As part of the driver training programme, the company provides complete vehicle familiarization and trouble-shooting training, training on safe driving practices, PCRA-led training on economic driving, including road test and star rating, medical examination, health awareness programmes and a visit to the ‘state-of-art’ manufacturing plant at Chakan. MNAL also provides a one-year accident insurance of Rs. 1 lakh to each driver.
The company has also tied up with the Ex-Servicemen Association where it is offering training program for those who are on the verge of retirement. This helps in catering to the overall requirement for drivers in the truck industry.
The company has been doing well in the west, south and eastern markets and has also announced plans to export trucks to overseas markets like South Africa and SAARC countries, particularly for right-hand drive markets.
Mr. Mehta concluded saying: “The industry is looking for an alternate player. We have a product which is relevant to the market, and the industry is clearly moving in that direction. We have put the right investment in the plant. The robustness and durability of the products has been established beyond doubt. The sales and service network functioning is far beyond our expectations. The experimentation with roadside assistance has worked wonders. The driver training program has been very successful, and our product has started earning more for the operators, and they’ve acknowledged this”.
