Rapid ramp up in production sees Mahindra’s SUV backlog reduce to 220,000 units

Mahindra & Mahindra, which has reported strong FY2024 numbers with revenues of Rs 139,078 crore and net profit of Rs 11,269 crore, up 25%, has also released details of the SUV bookings it has on hand at present. As of May 1, 2024 (and May 15 for the recently launched XUV 3XO), M&M has total open bookings of 220,000 units. These comprise the flagship XUV700, Scorpio N and Scorpio Classic, Bolero, Thar and the new XUV 3XO, and reflect the sustained as well as strong level of demand for its range of SUVs.

As they did in February 2024 (when the open bookings count was 226,000 units), the two Scorpios account for the maximum number of bookings – 86,000 units or 39% – and are currently averaging bookings of 17,000 units a month. They are followed by the popular Thar with 59,000 or 27% of total bookings, the just launched XUV 3XO compact SUV with 50,000 bookings (and counting), the XUV700 with 16,000 and the Bolero with 10,000 bookings.

The just-launched XUV 3XO compact SUV received 50,000 bookings within just an hour of bookings opening on May 15. 

M&M doubles factory output speedily
As a result of having considerably ramped up production at its factories, the waiting periods for most Mahindra SUVs has reduced. From monthly production capacity of 19,000 units at the end of FY2020, the company has consistently increased output to 39,000 units (469,000 units per annum) by end-FY2023 and to 49,000 units (588,000 units per annum) by end-FY2024. Now, it has outlined monthly production of 64,000 units for FY2025 (768,000 units per annum capacity) and 72,000 units (864,000 units per annum) by end-FY2026.

By March 2025 or end of FY2025, there is to be a 5,000 units increase in monthly production capacity for three models. This includes the new Thar five-door SUV, which is slated to be launched in mid-2024 and produced on a separate assembly line, the recently launched XUV 3XO compact SUV, which has drew 50,000 bookings in the first hour of bookings opening, and the all-electric XUV400. What’s also planned is an additional EV capacity of 8,000 units per month by end-FY2026.

M&M, which produced a total of 234,738 units in FY2022, has more than doubled its output to 472,775 units in FY2024, keeping pace with the 103% growth in sales – from 225,895 units in FY2022 to 459,877 units in FY2024.

SIAM production and sales data (shown above) reveals how the company's  output has increased over the past two fiscals to keep pace with the demand for most of its SUVs. M&M, which produced a total of 234,738 units in FY2022, more than doubled its output to 472,775 units in FY2024, keeping pace with the 103% growth in its sales – from 225,895 units in FY2022 to 459,877 units in FY2024. 

In FY2024, M&M surpassed 40,000-units monthly sales on five occasions and doubled its sales in just two years, just as it has on the production front. 

From November 2023, when open bookings were around 286,000 through to May 2024’s 220,000 pending orders, even as there continues to be a strong flow of fresh bookings each month, M&M’s increased level of production is paying dividends. The backlog for the Scorpio twins’ is down to 86,000 units from 101,000 units in February 2024, for the Thar down to 59,000 from the 71,000 bookings three months ago, while those for the XUV700 have more than halved to 16,000 from 35,000 bookings on February 1. The scenario for the Bolero though remains the same: 10,000 bookings.

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