Mahindra Bolero retains leadership in India’s pick-up segment in FY’20

The company sold more than 1.5 lakhs units of this popular pick-up with over 65% market share in the just concluded fiscal year. With strong demand for its mini truck Dost, Ashok Leyland emerge as number 2 players in the segment.

While India aims to become an export powerhouse like its Asian peers to tab the economic growth. However, India largely remains a domestic consumption-driven large economy with rising income and prosperity of the vast population.

One of the world's large growing economies means higher demand for goods and services across cities, town and rural India. This translates into a greater need for transportation of cargo across the length and breadth of the country from the manufacturing locations to the consumers. The last-mile transportation needs are often fulfilled by omnipresent 3W, compact trucks and pick-ups.  

The customer operating at the bottom of the supply chain find pick-ups as the most suitable vehicle to deliver faster goods to the consumer. This has paved the way for higher growth of the 2-3.5T GVW pick-up category.  Over the years, the pick-ups category has emerged as the highest volume individual segment in the overall truck market in India, thus underlining the growth potential over a mid-to long term.

Also, due to congestion and rising traffic problem authorities have restricted the entry of bigger trucks into the metro and large cities; therefore, pick-ups become the ideal last-mile vehicle for the transporter, courier, e-commerce companies and even for small businesses.

Pick-up Segment

The growing pick-up segment (2-3.5T GVW), and the potential of volume expansion made truck OEMs to focus on this vital segment. The key players catering to this segment include Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) leading the way with its popular Bolero range of Pik-ups, Ashok Leyland with Dost range of mini-trucks, Tata Motors with its Ace Super, Yodha, 207 and WInger range and also Isuzu Motors India-the leader in the global pick-up market. Every manufacturer is offering a compelling product and trying to woo the customers with the most suitable pick-up.

Despite fierce competition and aggressive rival, M&M continues to maintain leadership in the burgeoning segment. The success of the Bolero range has made M&M the leader in the overall light commercial vehicles, thus challenging the market leader Tata Motors which has equally formidable Ace and Yodha range of products.

Similarly, Chennai based Ashok Leyland vying for the pie of the growing LCV segment entered with promising mini-truck Dost range, and now become a prominent player in the segment.

In FY-2019-20, the total industry volume of the 2-3.5T GVW pick-up category was 2,31,982 units down by 17%. (FY:19: 2,80,205 units). Like the rest of the industry, pick-up sales also suffered due to sustained industry slump and the migration towards BS6 and COVID-19 challenges towards the end of March.

Bolero Pik-up  

The Bolero Pik-up range is the popular product in the category making M&M the leader in the segment. This category is largely dominated by driver-owners and entrepreneurs who prefer a vehicle that does not only perform optimally but also helps do a profitable business.

Bolero Pik-Ups serve this exact purpose by offering flexibility in performance and offer several variants such as Bolero Maxi Truck, Bolero Single Cab, Bolero Camper, Bolero City-Pik-up and other targeted at different kinds of transport needs. The fondness of Bolero Pik-ups has given M&M the leadership in the 2-3.5T GVW segment along with a strong position in the overall light commercial vehicle segment in India.

M&M is a clear market leader in the 2-3.5T pick-up segment in India largely due to its Bolero Pik-up trucks. The company has over a strong 65% share in the category despite fierce competition. In FY’2019-20, M&M has sold over 1,51,384 units of its popular Bolero range trucks with a market share of 65%. This was 14% lower compared to the same period last year.

Ashok Leyland Dost

Ashok Leyland Dost range of trucks have been synonymous with last-mile delivery; they offer both superior mileage and overall strong vehicle for carrying heavy as well as voluminous goods effortlessly. Dost has grown in stature over the years with a loyal customer segment. Ashok Leyland is also catering the discerning customers with few variants with several cargo bodies and payload options. Ashok Leyland sold 42,076 units of Dost truck FY’19-20 with a market share of 18%.

Tata Pickup

Tata Motors is another formidable player in the segment with a clear eye on the leadership position. The company has a strong product line-up in this segment with the popular Yodha, Xenon and 207 pick-ups, the Super Ace and Winger cargo. Tata Motors is pushing hard to get a bigger slice of this growing segment and constantly updating product portfolio to offer the most suitable product. Back by its strong portfolio the company has got a market share of 15 in FY’19-20 with total volumes sold 34,941 units.

Isuzu D-Max

Japanese vehicle maker Isuzu Motors operates its wholly-owned subsidiary in India. The company has set-up a green-field manufacturing plant to produce its range of commercial and passenger vehicles. Isuzu globally is leading pick-up makers selling its products to almost every key market.

The company considers India as a major market for the growth of Pick-ups as the demand for this vehicle category likely to increase many folds due to higher domestic consumption. Isuzu is keen to replicate its global success in India by being a strong player in the pick-up segment. It has several variants of pick-up introduced in the market both for the entry-level cargo segment and more premium personal segment, thus catering to the two extreme ends of the market.

The D-Max range of pick-ups targeted at the mass market cargo segment steadily expanding with customers prefer to buy this as an alternative for the local brands. Isuzu Motors India is expanding its network to further deepen its penetration to reach-out to the customers in small cities and towns. In FY’19-20, the company sold a total of 2,808 units of D-Max with a modest 1.2% of market share.

Force Motors is another player in the segment with a limited presence and sold 773 units of its Trump and Kargo King vehicles in FY’20.

The fiscal year 2020 was a challenging year for the auto sector, and the commercial vehicle industry also recorded a considerable drop in sales across categories of trucks. Yet, due to strong rural demand and rising last-mile delivery needs helped the pick-up segment to remain strong despite a 17% drop as compared to last fiscal.

The pick-ups are the single largest category in the overall truck volumes in India. All indicators point towards sustainable growth in this important category as demand for consumption expected to remain steady in India.

This offers a potential for OEMs to expand the volume, and all the key brands are working towards this goal. Post the nationwide lockdown, OEMs will introduce their BS6 model in the category, which will further intensify the competition and in the process, the customer will gain the most.

Keep reading us as we bring you all the action as it takes place this highly competitive category and other major truck segments in the Indian trucking industry.

Also Read: Indian commercial vehicle industry sales analysis and trends forecast – March 2020