M&M plans expansion in Southeast Asia, boosts presence in South Africa

01 Sep 2024

Mahindra & Mahindra, which leads India's pick-up truck market with a 51% share, is planning to expand into Southeast Asia and increase its presence in South Africa with its latest Veero range.

According to Veejay Nakra, the president of Mahindra's Automotive division, the company has been selling Scorpio pick-ups in various markets, including established ones like South Africa. Nakra mentioned that the Veero would allow Mahindra to access new markets, such as Southeast Asia, where they currently lack a presence. However, he noted that the company would initially concentrate on the domestic market before moving on to international markets in the subsequent phase.

The Veero, priced at Rs 07.99 million and positioned within the 2-3.5 tonne segment, is designed for intracity applications and competes with Tata Motors' Intra and Ashok Leyland's Dost models.

Mahindra has invested Rs 9 billion in developing what it claims is India's first "modular multi-energy platform" for the Veero. Small pickups constitute about a third of the domestic commercial vehicle market, with Mahindra holding a 40 per cent share. In the large pickup segment, which represents approximately 35 per cent of the market, the company leads with an 80 per cent share. Nakra asserted that each new model launch has significantly boosted market share, citing the Bolero Maxx pick-up launched in 2023 as an example that helped Mahindra gain an additional 8 percentage points in market share.

Related Stories