M&M trucks on fast track

Mumbai, Aug. 26: The Mahindra group is investing Rs 700 crore in commercial vehicles (CV) as it seeks to manufacture the entire range of trucks.

Mahindra Truck and Bus Division will make the investment to develop new intermediate and light commercial vehicles (LCVs). The aim is to have a portfolio ranging from 3.5 tonnes to 49 tonnes, thereby becoming a full-range player in the next two years.

"The CV sector has seen an upturn over the last few quarters. At Mahindra, we are taking aggressive steps to become a complete CV range player. With planned investments and enhancement of our product portfolio, we look forward to ride the growth trajectory," said Rajan Wadhera, president & chief executive (truck & power train) of M&M.

Besides developing vehicles in the 9-16-tonne range and launching intermediate and medium commercial vehicles, the company plans to upgrade its LCVs.

The M&M arm has a market share of nearly 9 per cent in the LCV segment.

The entire range of light commercial vehicles are manufactured at Mahindra's Zaheerabad facility.

The new range of medium and heavy commercial vehicles will be manufactured at its new facility at Chakan in Maharashtra, set up at an investment of Rs 4,000 crore.

The company wants to be a full-range commercial vehicle player to tap the rise in logistics demand after the introduction of goods and service tax.

Mahindra Truck and Bus Division today announced the roll out of its 15,000th heavy vehicle from Chakan.

The company also reached a sales milestone of 1,25,000 in the light vehicle segment.

M&M shares closed at Rs 1,215.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, down 3.07 per cent from the previous close.

Mahindra India