Jeeto helps Mahindra win in India's mini-truck market

If Mahindra & Mahindra has managed to carve for itself a strong position and market share in the less than 2-tonne small commercial vehicle (goods carrier) in the past couple of years, it is thanks to new products like the Jeeto.

Launched on June 23, 2015, the Jeeto, which replaced the Mahindra Gio, has gone on to sell a total of 48,634 units till end-April 2017. Having averaged monthly sales of a little over 2,100 units, the Jeeto would have crossed the 50,000 unit sales mark in the domestic market in May 2017.

India’s mini-truck segment (less than 2 tonnes) has seen rapid growth on the back of rising rural market demand and last-mile connectivity. This segment has long been dominated by Tata Motors with its popular Ace range of mini-trucks. However, Tata Motors’ dominance in the sector was challenged by Mahindra & Mahindra first with the Maxximo in early 2010 and more recently with the Jeeto.

Launching the Jeeto at a starting price of Rs 232,000 and in as many as 8 variants that addressed varied customer needs, M&M claimed the product Jeeto offered superior product performance, lower maintenance, best-in-class mileage (33.4kpl) and the promise of a 30 percent higher earning potential. It was not long before customers took to the Jeeto.  

Importantly, the Jeeto beat the leader Tata Ace on price and in the first year of sales (FY2015-16), it sold a little over 20,569 units, helping M&M notch double-digit growth and grab over 20 percent market share. FY2016-17 saw the Jeeto’s sales rise 25 percent year on year to 25,702 units. Clearly, this vehicle is a game-changer in its category.

The Jeeto sees a new rival in the market in the form of the Piaggio Porter 700 which was launched on June 14 aimed at last-mile transportation.  

Commenting on the Jeeto crossing the 50,000 unit sales mark, Rajan Wadhera, president, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, said: “The success of the Jeeto over the past two years is a testament to Mahindra’s focus on developing customer-centric, class-leading offerings. The Jeeto has created significant disruption in its segment with its modular range of 8 mini-trucks which offer a superior customer value proposition. Our customers appreciate the Jeeto’s promise of higher mileage, higher earning potential and car-like comfort.”

M&M has also recently introduced DiGiSENSE connectivity in the Jeeto. This allows owners to access vital information about the Jeeto remotely, improving the vehicle’s overall efficiency and productivity.

Grabbing market share from rivals
Growing demand for products like the Jeeto has given a new charge to M&M’s CV fortunes. The company, which currently has a market share of 33 percent in the overall domestic CV market, just behind Tata Motors (38.70%) and Ashok Leyland (15%). Its presence is across all CV sub-segments – M&HCV passenger carriers (34.18%), M&HCV goods carriers (32.21%), LCV passenger carriers (33.89%) and LCV goods carriers (51%). It is in the LCV goods carrier, where the Jeeto stands, where M&M is driving home the advantage.

In a recent interview with Autocar Professional, Dr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “Mahindra has gone beyond the point where success or failure of one product can make or break the company. What is forgotten often is that 50 percent of our portfolio is commercial vehicles, and there we have a market share of 51 percent, and in a growing segment. So while we are working on the UV market share growth and I am pretty confident this year we will see a turnaround, whether it is 2%, 5%, 7%, I don’t know but we will see a turnaround. Don’t forget that we are not only dependent on UVs. I am not saying it to take eye off of UVs. It’s very important because that’s what builds the image, that’s what builds a brand. But our bread and butter is in commercial vehicles where we are doing a lot and once the truck business becomes profitable for us, financially it will change the whole equation for us.”

Two years after its launch, the Jeeto is doing in the marketplace what its name (in Hindi) signifies.