The XUV500
New CEO at Mahindra South Africa (MSA), Sanjoy Gupta, has set seven priorities for the Indian importer to improve its performance in the local market.
The first priority is to improve Mahindra’s brand acceptance in the passenger car market, building on its strong presence in the bakkie market, says Gupta.
The second task is to improve channel-reach through opening more dealerships and service points, with the third to improve MSA’s digital and social media presence.
Financing a Mahindra should also be made easy, says Gupta, with MSA to shortly sign an alliance with a major South African bank.
The other three priorities are to introduce a used-car programme, which would ensure the availability of quality second-hand Mahindra vehicles in the market; developing apps to connect customers to the brand and ensuring a flow of new products to South Africa.
If all goes well, MSA will introduce three new platforms and three upgrades to existing platforms to South Africa over the next 12 months, says Gupta.
The new introductions will include a small sports-utility vehicle (SUV), called the TUV 300; a new-look Scorpio SUV; a small hatchback passenger car and the relaunch of the Thar off-roader, now with air-conditioning.
MSA currently sells the Bolero bakkie, Scorpio SUV, Quanto SUV, XUV500 SUV, Xylo SUV, Scorpio bakkie, Genio bakkie, SsangYong Rexton SUV and Ssangyong Acton SUV in South Africa.
The new introductions will strengthen MSA’s product portfolio in the passenger car market, says Gupta, allowing the brand to grow its volumes.
Mahindra has high brand acceptance in the bakkie market, he adds, with customers typically replacing their vehicles with another Mahindra product.
“That is why finding a second-hand Mahindra bakkie can be difficult. People buy a new bakkie, but don’t sell the old one.”
However, the new product introductions mean MSA will have to increase its visibility and acceptance in the passenger car market, as Gupta states in his list of priorities.
To achieve this, MSA will grow the brand’s dealer network from the current 58 dealers to 70 by the end of the 2016 financial year. This growth will largely happen in urban areas.
Increased exposure to the passenger car market will hopefully see MSA, over the next three years, double its yearly 4 000-unit sales in South Africa, notes Gupta.
The current split between passenger car and commercial vehicle sales is around 75% commercial.
“I would like this to be 50:50.”