M&M sells 25,847 UVs & cars in March, overall 483,164 units in FY13

Mumbai, April 1, 2013: Mahindra & Mahindra has registered total auto sales of 51,904 units in March 2013 (March 2012 : 46,919), an increase of 11 percent. Domestic sales stood at 49,225 units in March 2013 (March 2012 : 44,260 units), up 11 percent. The Passenger Vehicles segment (which includes UVs and the Verito saloon) posted a growth of 13 percent, with sales of 25,847 units in March 2013 (March 2012 : 22,961)

The 4-wheeler commercial segment which includes passenger and load vehicles registered sales of 17,212 units, while the 3-wheelers segment sold 4,831 units in March 2013. Exports for the month stood at 2,679 units. For 2012-13 fiscal year, M&M sold 563,373 units as against 483,164 units, a 17 percent growth.

Commenting on the figures, Pravin Shah, chief executive, Automotive Division, M&M, said: “We are happy to have crossed the half-a-million sales mark for the first time, during FY 2012-13, given the challenges and the pressures the auto industry is currently facing. The 3 percent additional excise duty on SUVs is clearly a deterrent and by not having a level playing field for all SUVs, it certainly destabilises the market dynamics. At Mahindra, we hope to create excitement in the market during FY 2013-14 especially with the launch of our sub-4-metre- Verito and other product offerings.”

2013-14 will see M&M face new challenges in the form of the soon-to-be-launched Ford EcoSport SUV. The company is believed to be developing a range of new SUVs, including sub-compact models. A new baby SUV (codenamed S101) will be the second offering from Mahindra in the sub-four-metre SUV segment and will sit below the Quanto. Mahindra plans to aim the S101 at the likes of sportier mini-SUVs like the Ford EcoSport.

M&M is reportedly planning to share interior components with its other models to keep costs down. What’s more, seeing as how it managed to squeeze seven seats into a sub-four-metre footprint with the Quanto, the company could pitch this new SUV as a six- or even an eight-seater. The carmaker is also reportedly considering developing an upmarket version of the S101 that will be codenamed S102.

All-new engine family in the works

M&M is also developing an all-new engine family that will power its future range of compact SUVs and passenger cars. It is rumored to be investing around US$ 800 million (around Rs 4,300 crore) in this project. The new engine family is likely to include three petrol and three diesel engines with capacities ranging from 1.2 to 1.6 litres. Developed on a modular architecture, the base 1.2-litre motors will be three-cylinder units, while the higher capacity 1.5 and 1.6-litre engines will have four cylinders. However to optimise manufacturing costs, all engines will use common parts and have a common ‘bore centre spacing'. An all-new five and six-speed transmission is also being developed along with a trans-axle to drive the transverse engines.

The new engine family is being developed for Euro VI application and beyond and will power a range of future compact models from Mahindra and SsangYong. While the engine development is cooperation between Mahindra and its Korean affiliate, it's the parent company that will take the lead in this ambitious programme. Hence, the bulk of the engine development will be carried out in the Mahindra Research Valley (MRV), the company's state-of-the-art R&D facility outside Chennai. Engine specialists AVL of Austria are believed to be consultants for this project.

For the Indian market, the 1.5 diesel is likely to be the mainstay of the new engine family and this motor, believed to develop upwards of 110bhp, will power Mahindra's new range of compact SUVs (codename: S101/2) It's likely that the Mahindra Verito will eventually ditch Renault's K9K diesel motor and use an in-house diesel motor to enhance the Verito's value proposition. Mahindra's new engine range is likely to go into production in late 2014 or 2015 after fresh capacity is built up.

The higher-capacity mHawk engine will continue to power larger products like the Scorpio, Xylo and the XUV500, but the older 2.5 CRDe engine (badged as mEagle) is likely to be discontinued. "Our high-end products will eventually be only powered by the mHawk and its derivatives," said a company source.

(With inputs from Autocar India)