We guarantee that if our truck doesn’t deliver better mileage as compared to any other Indian truck in the same range, we will take the truck back and give 100 per cent refund!
RC Mangal, Sr. VP – Sales & Marketing (Truck & Bus), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd

  The basic strategy of Mahindra is to give a superior product at a marginally incremental cost, says RC Mangal, Sr. Vice President – Sales & Marketing (Truck & Bus Division), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, while interacting with Subhajit Roy on the sidelines of IMME 2016. Edited excerpts:

How do you consider mining as a growth vehicle for Mahindra& Mahindra?
Currently, the maximum growth in the country is in the construction and mining industries and both are quite linked. There is a close to 40 to 50 per cent growth in construction and mining industries and the trucks and tippers are very much related to this application. If we look at the market size of trucks in 25-tonne and above category, more than one-fourth of it is tippers which are directly linked to construction and mining activities. So while there is a close to 21 per cent de-growth in haulage trucks, the construction and mining trucks are growing at the rate of 45 per cent per annum. Therefore, one-fourth of our business is assured, if we are a strong player in mining industry.

In addition, the balance 75 per cent of the trucks also has some linkage with construction and mining industries. For example, a large number of trip trailers are used for transportation of coal at long distances whereas tractor trailers are used in cement transportation. So, all in all, at least 35 per cent of entire truck industry has got a linkage with construction and mining industries.

In India, being a developing country, a lot of major and minor minerals are yet to be explored and a lot of construction has to be done. For example, road projects across entire East and North-East have to be accomplished. Ambitious projects like Interlinking of Rivers (ILR), Sagarmala and 100-smart city are yet to get kick-started where the scope for construction and mining industries is tremendous.

Seeing the quantum of growth in the mining industry, what is the volume of business you are looking at?
Since our base is relatively smaller, we are looking at a growth of almost 70 to 80 per cent per year for next 4 to 5 years.

What is the market size and what is your market share?
As of now the market size in medium and heavy commercial vehicle industries (i.e. 25-tonne and above category) is 1,90,000 units per year and we have the market share of 4 per cent. In the LCV (light commercial vehicles) category, we have a market share in excess of 10 per cent.

Being a relatively new player in this market, what will be your strategy?
The basic strategy of Mahindra is to give a superior product at a marginally incremental cost. We take a look at the pain areas of Indian customers from the existing product solutions, workout solutions and integrate them in our products. So, a superior product at marginally higher cost is our philosophy. Though each of our truck will be costing Rs 1 to 2 lakh more than that of the nearest competitor, yet it will provide much better operating cost for fleet operator/s. So in a period of 4 to 5 years, savings will outweigh the incremental capital cost.

As you are committed to offer superior product at marginally higher cost, what will the parameters to tag a truck as ‘superior’?
The heart of a truck is its engine and our truck is fitted with the 7.2-litre engine as against typical 5.9-litre or 5.7-litre engines in other Indian trucks. So typically our engines are 17 to 25 per cent bigger. Our engines are of low RPM which results in lesser wear and tear, superior reliability and increased life cycle. A typical life of an Indian engine is of the order of 6,000 hours of operation whereas engine life of Mahindra trucks is 12,000 hours. So an owner of truck gets double the life at an incremental cost of Rs 1-2 lakhs.

The clutch fitted in Mahindra trucks will be almost again 15 per cent bigger. Our trucks are fitted with world-class Eaton and ZF range of gearboxes which conform to international quality. The cabins of our vehicles conform to European crash safety norm which is likely to be mandatory by April 2017. So right from safety to productivity to owning and operating cost on per tonne per kilometre basis, our trucks will be scoring high.

Where do your trucks stand in terms of fuel efficiency?
In February, we introduced our new range of medium and heavy commercial vehicles branded as BLAZO that offer best-in-class fuel efficiency. We guarantee that if our truck doesn’t deliver better mileage as compared to any other Indian truck in the same range, we will take the truck back and give 100 per cent refund. This is one and only of its kind warranty any manufacture has ever offered in India.

How do you look at the competition from the global players?
No, there is absolutely zero competition with global players and we don’t even consider them as our competitors. We consider Indian manufacturers as our competitors. What is Mahindra & Mahindra’s contribution towards ‘Make in India’ initiative?Mahindra & Mahindra is one manufacturer which is using all indigenously developed and locally procured parts in its trucks. We make our own engines and even cabins – so all our trucks are fully ‘Made in India’. 

What percentage of trucks you export?
The export of our trucks is largely limited to SAARC countries as of now. The numbers I mentioned earlier are of the domestic consumption. If we add exports to that it will be another 10 to 15 per cent of the volumes. Our single biggest export market is Nepal. On an average, we export close to 70 large trucks and 30 small trucks per month.