Mahindra Bolero retains supremacy in the pick-up segment
Published On Feb 02, 2020
The company established as a most prominent player in the pick-up segment in India witness demand-pull for its popular Bolero family of pick-up trucks.
India is among the few large countries globally which have been growing rapidly, despite some hiccups on the way with a lot of potential over the next 10-20 years as high economic growth trajectory bringing a lot of prosperity to its citizens. The rising consumption across the country is a case in point across India which is driving the GDP growth. As a result, demand for commercial vehicle-both the heavy and small commercial vehicles is steadily logging an uptick, notwithstanding the current slowdown across the automotive sector. Truck makers are riding on this demand by introducing innovative, value for money products to the Indian consumers.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the formidable domestic player, is among the most recognisable brand in the commercial vehicle space. The company has over the years, established itself as a leading play in the light commercial vehicles, thus challenging the market leader Tata Motors. While M&M is aggressively looking to expand its strength in the heavy and medium-duty trucks, it is a leading player in the fast-growing light commercial vehicle-right from the sub-one tone segment to 7.5T GVW.
Bolero Pik-Up excels
M&M is the distinct leader in the 2-3.5T pick-up segment in India as its Bolero Pik-up range is the most popular product in the category. Since this remarkable product combines practicality, reliability, suitable for a variety of applications at last-mile connectivity become a huge hit among India’s small transport community. M&M took the market by storm as Bolero Pik-up become the most preferred brand of customers. This segment is largely dominated by driver-owners and entrepreneurs who prefer a vehicle that not only performs optimally but also helps them earn a living.
Bolero Pik-Ups serves 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.
Market Leader
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 64% share in the category despite fierce competition from established players such as Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Isuzu Motors India and Force Motors. Each this player has tried to compete against the Bolero Pick-up, yet M&M continues to dominate the market.
During April-December 2019, M&M has sold over 1,18,111 units of its popular Bolero range trucks with a market share of 64%. While owning to the slowdown it sold 8% fewer vehicles compared to the same period last year. Yet, the company is far ahead of its rival in the segment. Ashok Leyland Dost range of trucks are now quite popular taking the second position in the segment overtaking Tata Motors which retails products such as Super Ace, Xenon Pick-up and 207 models. Ashok Leyland sold 34,499 units of Dost in April-December 2019 with a market share of 19%. Tata Motors sold 29,311 units of its mini-trucks range thus cornering a market share of 16%. Clearly, there is a close fight between Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland for the second spot.
M&M still enjoys a greater lead over its rival with almost dominance in the segment, this indicates that it is long time before a serious competitor shows up to the Bolero Pik-up range in India.