Vehicle distributor Mahindra South Africa (SA) will add another product to its portfolio in November, when the company will introduce a range of generator sets (gensets) to the local market.

Mahindra SA is a subsidiary of the Indian Mahindra & Mahindra conglomerate.

“In India we have 60% of the genset market in the telecoms sector,” says Mahindra & Mahindra truck, construction equipment and power train president and CE Rajan Wadhera.

This means around 260 000 cellphone towers in India use Mahindra gensets for backup power in case of power failures.

“A genset has an engine and an alternator. Engines are our strength. We make almost one-million engines a year,” notes Wadhera.

He is positive that South Africa will enjoy long-term economic growth, despite the current “bump on the road”.

“As countries grow, the demand for gensets grow.”

Wadhera believes it will be possible for Mahindra SA to “quickly scale up” the genset business, using the ecosystem already established for vehicle sales.

The target markets will be industrial, commercial and residential customers – reached through the retail market – as well as the South African telecoms industry.

Wadhera believes Mahindra gensets offer improved fuel efficiency over competitors, lower noise levels and lower running costs, enabled by the group’s background in developing and selling vehicles with the same characteristics.

Spare parts will also be readily available, as is the case with Mahindra’s vehicles in South Africa, he says.

“The canopies covering the gensets are also completely weatherproof.”

The range will include gensets from 5 kVA to 300 kVA.

The first consignment of Mahindra gensets has already arrived in South Africa.

Wadhera’s eventual sales target is around 2 000 units a year.

“South Africa is an important market for us. We have been in South Africa for ten years with our autos and we would like to expand our business here.”

Current planning should see gensets being sold by Mahindra dealers in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, the Western Cape and the North West.

Beyond that, sales will be handled by local generator distributors.

Wadhera says Mahindra & Mahindra have already sold gensets in Nigeria and Swaziland, but in small volumes.