Mahindra Truck & Bus expands Blazo range with 49T, Furio ICV range to get 18 variants

Mahindra Truck and Bus (MTBD), a part of the Mahindra Group, today launched the Blazo 49T rigid MAV truck in the 16-wheeler category, offering higher mileage and payload. The company also claims the Blazo range of trucks, launched in February 2016, has become the market leader in terms of mileage within the trucking industry. MTB says the Blazo range “is currently selling at a premium in comparison to other market players.”

MTBD says there are over 26,000 Blazos plying on Indian roads and have cumulatively covered more than 1,100 crore kilometres. A company statement has it that “the success of the Blazo can be attributed to its mileage superiority and low cost of ownership, which has been attained through increased oil change intervals, reduced oil cost and a class leading 6-year / 600,000km transferable warranty.”

Focus on BS VI, expanding Furio ICV range
MTBD is now consolidating its position with the launch of its BS VI range of products. It is also working on simplifying BS VI for its customers, an integral part being 80 percent parts remaining unchanged from the BS IV variant.

Meanwhile, in the recently launched ICV (Intermediate Commercial Vehicle) segment, MTBD says its Furio, launched in January 2019 at Rs 17.45 lakh, has emerged as the fourth player in the 12-tonne and 14-tonne segments. The company has recently added three more variants to the Furio portfolio and will launch 18 more variants in the ICV segment from 5 to 18 tonnes, all BS VI-compliant.

Speaking on the developments, Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, said “With the HCV segment going through tough times, we felt the need to constantly innovate to stay ahead of the curve. This has resulted in the Blazo meeting with unparalleled success with regard to mileage which is a win-win for its owners. We are on track to being BS-VI complaint with a wider range of truck and buses, simplified new technology and the unique customer value proposition of guaranteed higher mileage”.

Vinod Sahay, CEO, Mahindra Truck and Bus Division, Mahindra & Mahindra, added, “Continuing with our disruptive customer value proposition of mileage guarantee, the new Blazo X 49 Rigid MAV truck in 16-wheeler category ensures that customers save more and earn higher due to higher mileage and payload. Our newly launched ICV range, Furio has been acknowledged by the customers and with the launch of 18 new variants in the coming months, we hope to be a full range player in this segment. We are excited to commercially launch our Cruzio range of long platform overhang (LPO) buses in the employee and school segments.”

The company says it has emerged as the No. 3 player in the haulage segment (Multi-Axle Vehicle and Tractor-Trailer) in H1 FY2020 across major markets such as Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir and North East region.

The company has also announced the setting up of its Express North-South Service Corridor on the 3,800km-long stretch from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. This Kashmir to Kanyakumari service corridor will further strengthen the aftersales network. This comprises 41 service touchpoints, one every 100km, with a guaranteed service reach of 4 hours or Rs 500 compensation for every hour of delay. This is the second such corridor after the Mumbai-Delhi service corridor which caters to nearly 30 percent of truck movement.

The MTB range is supported by a service and spares network comprising over 100 3S dealerships, 210 authorised service centers, a wide spares network of retail outlets and 39 strategically located parts plazas.

At present, the Indian M&HCV segment is battling very tough times. In the April-September 2019 period, the overall M&HCV segment has sold 14,855 units, down a massive 62% year-on-year. The critical M&HCV goods carriers segment saw sales of 12,650 units, down 65% YoY while M&HCV passenger carriers (buses) with 2,205 units are down 24.77% as per the latest SIAM industry statistics.