Mahindra forays into ICV segment, unveils Furio range of trucks

With the unveiling of new vehicles from Mahindra's Truck and Bus (MTB) Division, the group has establishment its presence across all the segments of commercial vehicles, said Pawan Goenka, managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra.

Goenka also said that the company's truck and bus business is expected to turn Ebbtide positive by this fiscal.

"The unveiling of the new Furio is a defining moment for our truck and bus business as we are set to become a full-range commercial vehicles player. We have invested Rs 600 crore in creating the ICV platform," he said.

Mahindra & Mahindra's automotive sector president Rajan Wadhera said with the addition of the new range of ICVs, MTB will emerge as a complete trucking solutions provider to the country's commercial vehicle market.

The company unveiled four new trucks today, of the 21 it plans to roll out in the new ICV range.

Mahindra currently commands 5.6 per cent market share in the over-25-tonne category of the heavy commercial vehicles segment, in which it offers Blazo brand of trucks. In the light CV segment, it has a 9.5 per cent share, while its market pie in the bus segment stands at 8-8.5 per cent.

"With the entry in ICV segment, we have become a significant player," added Wadhera.

Admitting the high competition in the segment, Vinod Sahay chief executive officer for truck, bus and construction equipment division at Mahindra & Mahindra said the segment is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 15-17 per cent and the Mahindra group is poised to take advantage of its foray into the new category which has a wide range of applications.

"We are working to challenge the status quo," he added.

The company plans to roll out 21 new products in the segment, of which four were unveiled today.

"We will launch 21 new trucks - seven in BSIV and rest in BS VI engine technology - in the new segment over a period of time," he said.

Of the 21, six trucks are to be launched within this fiscal, he added.

The Furio trucks have been designed by Italian designer Pininfarina and have been provided with light-weight, low friction MDI tech engines, in both diesel and CNG.

Sehay also said that the company has enough capacity at its Chakan manufacturing facility here to produce the new trucks.

"Chakan has capacity to produce 33,000 Blazo vehicles per annum in two shifts and at present we are doing close to 20,000, which around 1,500-2,000 vehicles per month. Furio comes from the same assembly line and therefore we don't have Furio assembly constraints," he added.

The new trucks will be sold through a network of 100 sales, service and spares dealerships pan-India.