Mahindra & Mahindra plan to introduce four to five products across their light and intermediate commercial vehicle range in FY27, as the group starts drawing product and engineering synergies from its acquisition of the erstwhile SML Isuzu.
The first benefits will come through cross-badging, with products available under one brand but missing from the other expected to be introduced by around the end of the third quarter of FY27, Vinod Sahay, President, Trucks & Buses, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Executive Chairman of SML Mahindra, said during a media roundtable.
“We will start introducing some products which one brand has and the other brand does not have through cross badging,” Sahay said. “That we will start doing probably end of the quarter 3 itself.”
Mahindra is also working on a wider refresh of its commercial vehicle range. “This year itself we are going to introduce 4 or 5 new products in the LCV, ICV range,” Sahay said.
The move marks the first visible product-level integration between Mahindra's Truck and Bus Division (MTBD) and SML Mahindra following the acquisition. Beyond cross-badging, the two companies have started working on an integrated product strategy that will increasingly use common platforms and aggregates.
One example is CNG. SML already has a CNG range, while Mahindra's >3.5-tonne truck and bus portfolio has gaps in the segment. Instead of developing a separate CNG platform, Mahindra plans to use common aggregates and offer vehicles with different styling and branding.
Sahay said a CNG bus based on SML's existing capability could, for instance, be introduced with a Mahindra face and styling. Both Mahindra and SML brands and their existing sub-brands will continue. Mahindra will retain names such as Blazo, Furio and Cruzio, while SML will retain its own truck and bus nameplates.
Common Platforms to Follow
Deeper product integration is also taking shape behind the scenes. Mahindra and SML currently have separate product-development teams and budgets. Combining their programmes will help eliminate duplicate development work and free engineering resources for additional products, according to Sahay.
Future vehicles will increasingly share underlying architectures. “Under the skin will be almost common in terms of powertrain and many things,” he said. The vehicles can still be tuned differently to preserve the positioning of the two brands.
The company is also looking for savings from common sourcing and value engineering. Part of those savings will be reinvested to expand the business, Sahay said.
The strategy comes as Mahindra seeks to double its share of the >3.5-tonne truck and bus market to around 12% by FY31, from about 6% currently. It is targeting a share of more than 20% by FY36. Within the portfolio, management is aiming for around 30% share in LCV/ICV buses and 20% in LCV/ICV trucks.
In April 2025, Mahindra agreed to acquire 58.96% of SML Isuzu for ₹555 crore, buying Sumitomo Corporation's 43.96% stake and Isuzu Motors' 15% holding. The acquisition strengthened Mahindra’s presence in light and intermediate buses and trucks, complementing its wider CV portfolio, including heavy trucks, while opening synergies across products, sourcing, manufacturing, engineering and distribution.
The integration moved further in July 2026, when SML Mahindra approved the acquisition of Mahindra Truck and Bus Division from M&M for about ₹525 crore through a slump sale. Expected to close in FY27, the transaction will bring the group’s >3.5-tonne truck and bus operations under a single entity, with a portfolio spanning light, intermediate and heavy trucks as well as buses.
Mahindra-SML Sales Rise 11% in Q1 FY27
The combined Mahindra-SML truck and bus business sold 9,389 vehicles in Q1 FY27, up 11% from 8,449 units a year earlier, according to Mahindra.
Growth, however, varied sharply by segment. Passenger vehicle volumes, which largely comprise buses, increased 20% to 5,939 units, while cargo vehicle sales slipped 1% to 3,450 units. Within this, standalone MTBD volumes rose 12% to 3,951 vehicles. SML volumes increased 10% to 5,438 units, supported by a 19% rise in passenger vehicles even as its cargo sales fell 13%.
For the full FY26, the combined business sold 31,464 trucks and buses, up 15% from 27,308 units in FY25. Cargo volumes increased 20% to 15,624 units, while passenger vehicle sales grew 11% to 15,840 units. MTBD volumes rose 13% to 14,832 units and SML grew 17% to 16,632 units.
The wider Indian commercial vehicle market has also started the year strongly.
Domestic CV wholesales rose 18.3% year on year to 2.65 lakh units in Q1 FY27, the highest-ever first-quarter volumes for the segment, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Goods carriers recorded double-digit growth, supported by replacement demand and demand from mining and cement, while passenger carriers posted only marginal growth.
The performance followed a sharp recovery in FY26. Commercial vehicle sales rose 12.6% to a record 10.80 lakh units during the year. The industry benefited from lower GST rates, softer financing costs, higher capital expenditure and an improving replacement cycle.
Within the market, heavy trucks were among the stronger performers. Medium and heavy commercial vehicle truck sales increased 16% to around 3.56 lakh units in FY26, taking volumes above their pre-Covid FY19 level for the first time. The M&HCV bus market, in contrast, recorded a marginal decline, with volumes at 67,149 units.
Mahindra is now betting that the faster product cadence and SML integration will allow it to capture a larger part of that recovery, particularly in LCV and ICV trucks where management sees considerable room to increase share.
The group is also beginning to expand its product strategy beyond conventional powertrains. Sahay said Mahindra is working on its first electric bus and has begun initial development work on electric trucks, although its immediate priority remains gaining scale in the conventional truck market.