New Delhi: Mahindra & Mahindra today said it will foray into the intermediate commercial vehicles segment by the end of 2017-18 as part of its plans to triple market share in the CV market in next five years.
The company is in the process of investing Rs 700 crore to develop new intermediate commercial vehicles (ICVs) and light commercial vehicles (LCVs). It is expecting to launch 15-16 models of ICVs and LCVs altogether as it seeks to become a full range CV player by in the next two and half years.
"We will be entering into the ICV segment by the end of FY18. It is a part of our plans to become a full range CV player," Mahindra Trucks and Buses Ltd Managing Director and CEO Nalin Mehta told PTI here.
The ICV ranging from 8-16 tonnes vehicles will be supplemented by new products from LCVs, he added. "Currently an investment of Rs 700 crore is ongoing. This investment is for both ICV and new LCV.
We already have prototypes which are being tested," Mehta said. Elaborating on the company's plans, he said:"Our target is to double our market share in the CV space in two years.
Once we become a full range player we are looking a triple it. "M&M currently has 3.5 per cent share in the heavy commercial vehicles segment while in LCV it has around 9 per cent share.
It is not present in the ICV category. Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland are the major players in the segments. "So, as we go ahead we will be launching a new product every two-three months starting from the end of FY18.
We have great expectations from our CV division," Mehta said. When asked by when the truck and bus division is expected to be a profit centre, Mehta didn't share an exact time line but said it could happen in the next five years or even before that.
"Once we become a full range player, our production capacity utilisation will increase, our ability to leverage on suppliers will increase. So we should be able to achieve profitable growth," he added.
He said the engines for the ICV are being developed by its engineers at Chennai and will be assembled at the Pune facility. "These ICV engines can also find their way to our tractors.
Since the products are being launched close to 2020 most of them will be BS VI emission norm complaint," Mehta added.
