Mahindra & Mahindra enters tractor rental business with Trringo

In a bid to tap the growing tractor rental business in India, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the country's largest farm equipment manufacturer, today announced setting up of a new startup venture called Trringo, the first ever organised rental service for the sector.

Based on a franchisee model aimed at increasing farm mechanisation levels in India through easy availability of tractors to farmers who cannot afford to purchase them, Trringo would use technology to create a sharing infrastructure in the deep rural pockets of India. 

With an initial investment upwards of Rs 10 crore by M&M, the startup is hopeful of establishing a presence in five states (Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP, Karnataka and Rajasthan) by August-end.

Small farmers who ask for tractors from the few who own them, leading to uncertainty, compromise in quality of tractors and equipment, and often, disappointment. As part of the model, Trringo will use a proprietary digital platform, developed in collaboration with Tech Mahindra, as an enabler to process orders and pass them on to the nearest franchisee through location based mapping. This will enable farmers to order for tractors by placing a call or ordering from the startup's mobile app.

Franchisees could also tie-up with tractor owners in the vicinity enabling them to rent out equipment to farmers on a commission basis.

Also, farmers who own expensive, high-end equipment can rent out their assets thereby optimising utilisation based on seasonality, cutting across geographies, the company said.

Trringo has plans of setting up 80 such franchisees across the five states with around 160 hubs initially.

Commenting on the launch announcement, M&M's executive director Pawan Goenka said: "In India, where farm mechanisation penetration is low, Mahindra would like to play a significant role in enabling farmers to improve their productivity by providing accessible technology.

“The Trringo farm equipment rental business model will enable farmers to deploy mechanisation technology on a pay per use basis without investing in the asset. This will increase their output and prosperity and lead to the inclusive growth of the nation,” he added.

M&M has said that the model is brand agnostic and franchisees could opt for equipment from other manufacturers as well, however the machinery requirements would be chalked out by Trringo based on each region. 

Also read: M&M may tap overseas markets for tractor rental business