Mahindra Navistar makes HCV foray, rolls out trucks

Mahindra Navistar Automotives (MNAL) forayed into the domestic heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) market by

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unveiling 25 tonne and 35 tonne trucks in the capital on Monday. The 51:49 joint venture firm between Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and Navistar of the US plans to gain 20 per cent market share in about five year's time. It also plans to be number one in the segment, said Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director, M&M, on Monday.

"Our target is to achieve 20 per cent market share in the HCV market here. We hope to achieve this with the launch of whole range of commercial vehicles products in the domestic market in four to five year's time," said D T Kapur, president, Navistar Truck Group, USA.

The JV plans to launch seven variants including the 25 tonne and 35 tonne trucks by the end of this calendar year. The trucks will be manufactured at M&M's Chakan plant near Pune in Maharashtra.

M&M, the leader in the domestic utility vehicle space, also plans to take on the market leader Tata Motors in the HCV space. "We like to aim for the number one spot in the segment we operate in. As we gradually expand the range of HCV products, our focus would be to achieve the top position," said Anand Mahindra.

"After we launch the whole range of products, we will export trucks to countries in the Saarc, Asean and South American countries having right hand drive format and later to countries having left hand driving format," Pawan Goenka, president (automotive sector), M&M said.

MNAL would be appointing over 150 dealerships and around 260 roadside assistance service centres across the country.