Mahindra & Mahindra, India’s utility vehicle manufacturer will not be bringing any Ssangyong model in the India auto market or even expanding its car lineup as it wants to solely focus on becoming a major SUV manufacturer in the global market.
Rajesh Jejurikar, the head of business operations for the company, said that they have no immediate plan as of now regarding a car strategy. The only passenger brand that is offered by this company is the Verito which is a relaunched variant of their entry level Logan sedan. They are also set to launch a small car model under this brand.
The recent M&M acquired South Korean auto company Ssangyong will help push the company’s SUV strategy in global markets. The company’s utility vehicle strategy will bring the Ssangyong products like Korando-C and Rexton in the Indian auto market.
Auto industry experts say that this car strategy is similar to the models followed by global manufacturers of cars. For example, Ford India has many passenger cars on offer but only one SUV in its lineup. This M&M strategy has also decided to rule out the high end Ssangyong sedan, Chairman from its lineup.
Jejurikar said that the Chairman car has a left hand drive layout. If they felt that there is a need for this product in global markets, then they will modify it for use in global and Indian markets. M&M’s strategy of diluting their focus from passenger cars was evident as soon as they decided not to bring in new car models from the Renault line up.
In the year 2005, M&M entered into a joint venture with the French auto manufacturer Renault to launch the Logan in Indian markets. However, the sales of Logan began to dip after witnessing initial success mostly because of perception issues and changes in excise duty, which affected consumer confidence.
