Mahindra and Mahindra in talks with Ola, Uber for alliance; shares up

Mahindra and Mahindra shares gained on Tuesday after its executive director and group president, auto and farm sector, Pawan Goenka said CNBC TV18 that the company is in talks with taxi-aggregators such as Ola and Uber for alliance.

At 12.36 pm, Mahindra and Mahindra shares were trading 0.63 per cent up at Rs 1431.00. The scrip opened at Rs 1429 and touched a high and low of Rs 1435.50 and Rs 1425.50, respectively. Sensex was trading 255.66 points up at 28,158.32.

Elabortaing on the recent 1 per cent cess as directed by Supreme Court for all auto manufacturers, Goenka said ,”more than 1 per cess would be death knell for diesel segment.” The Supreme Court earlier this month directed automobile makers to pay a levy equal to 1 per cent of the ex-showroom price of diesel vehicles with an engine capacity above 2000cc. Goenka also said that scrapping old vehicles is a positive move in creating demand and reducing pollution.

Goenka further added that the company is re-evaluating its motorcycle strategy as there is now need to increase focus on premium motorcycles. “We may not focus on 100-110cc segment and also considering dropping brand name M&M for two-wheeler business,” Goenka told the CNBC TV 18 channel.

Discounts have not gone up at the cost of profit margins, Goenka said. Speaking to ET Now channel, Goenka also said that he expects to see productive festive season this year and the company is not planning to launch any new vehicle this festive season. Rather than new launches, the focus will be on increasing volumes and market penetration of launched products, he added.

Mahindra India