Mahindra enters motorcycle arena

The 100cc commuter segment has proved to be the make or break segment for any bike manufacturer and Mahindra 2-Wheelers will want to make a strong impact here. With the festive season around the corner, the company has said it will accept bookings right away and begin deliveries by the middle of October.

For those keen on more powerful bikes, the company has displayed the 292cc Mojo. This handcrafted motorcycle is still at a prototype stage and will go into production within the next three months. Initially, the Mojo will be launched in select markets by January 2011. It won’t be a pan-India launch like the Stallio which will be out in the first half of October 2010. Clearly, the launch is aimed at leveraging the festival season bonanza. The Stallio will take on the likes of Hero Honda’s Passion, Bajaj’s Discover and Honda’s CB Twister. Mojo rising

The Mojo has no direct competition at present, and its display at the press meet was aimed at revealing a top-end offering to potential customers. Designed and developed by Engines Engineering, the Italy-based design house, along with inputs from European vendors like Ducati Energia, Paiolo, Pirelli and J Juan, the Mojo’s electronic fuel injection system has been developed by Ducati Energia and shock absorbers by Paioli. When it enters the market, the Mojo will retail at Rs 1.75 lakh, ex-showroom, Pune. Outlining the company’s gameplan, Anoop Mathur, president, Mahindra 2-Wheelers, said: “Our marketing plan will be something that gels with the customers. We have studied the market and our potential customers. We will be the first in the market to offer a four- year/40,000km warranty with eight free services. With the opening up of the economy, customers are becoming discerning and demanding.”

Mathur added, “Our two-wheeler business aims to break even next fiscal year and become as large as the tractor and sport-utility vehicle business within seven years.” Sanjay Mittal, vice- president, sales, said: “We are ramping up our dealership network. At present, we have 370 dealerships and the numbers will go up to 400 by end-October. There is also a possibility of retailing bikes through other Mahindra Group dealerships.”

Both the Stallio and the Mojo will be manufactured at Mahindra’s Pithampur, Indore facility which has an annual capacity of 500,000-600,000 units. The Stallio’s engine has been jointly developed by Engines Engineering, Mahindra R&D and a Chinese company.

The local content in the Stallio is 85 percent. The company also wants to export the Stallio from 2012 to countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Mahindra 2-Wheelers forayed into the two-wheeler segment in 2008 when it acquired an 80 percent stake in Kinetic Motors and re-launched Kinetic’s existing portfolio with new names which included the Rodeo, Duro and Flyte. At this point, Mahindra had also revealed its plans to enter into the bike segment. Over the last 12 months, Mahindra 2-Wheelers has sold 150,000 scooters. At present, the company has achieved a close to a double-digit market share which it hopes to increase with the launch of the two motorcycles.