M&M targets to make Thar the number 1 brand in mid-size SUV market

Mahindra & Mahindra has set a target of making Thar the number one SUV brand in the midsize premium SUV market in the next 3-5 years.

Launching the all-new Thar Roxx in Kochi on Thursday, starting at an aggressive price of Rs 12.99 lakh (petrol) to Rs 13.99 lakh (diesel) ex-showroom, Rajesh Jejurikar, ED & CEO, Auto and Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra, said that the new Thar Roxx was designed to be the mainstream SUV.

He explained that the market is divided between less than Rs 12.5 lakh and more than Rs 12.5 lakh, in the price segment. M&M wanted to focus on the latter, with the new Thar Roxx.

"The opportunity that gets presented to us with this is that we want to make it the No.1 brand in the Rs 12.5 lakh price segment in the next 3-5 years," Jejurikar said.

M&M already has a market share of 27% in the SUV segment above Rs 12.5 lakh segment, with Scorpio and the XUV 700 featuring in the top 5 brands. With the Thar, the company sees the potential of being number 1, as it meets the needs of mainstream buyers and challenges all the other mainstream SUV brands such as the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, and Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, amongst others. 

While the company was non-committal on the volumes for the Thar family, in the first year, it plans to produce about 10,000 units a month of the Thar 3 door and the new Thar Roxx.

Given that Hyundai Creta is the number one brand in the mid-size SUV segment,  selling about 14,000 to 15,000 units a month, M&M is likely to build the portfolio further—and they are most likely to come with electric powertrains in the future.

In a market that is slowing down in growth due to a high base, M&M is banking on the new 3X0 compact SUV and Thar Roxx SUV to grow by mid-to-high teens in the current financial year, which will help the company cross the half-million sales milestone for the first time.

M&M, which claims to be the number 1 SUV maker in terms of revenues, will also breach the Rs 75000 crore turnover mark for the first time in FY25.

The company sold 4.59 lakh units in FY24, with a volume market share of 11%. It was also the second biggest SUV player in sales last financial year, with an 18% share.

Every second vehicle sold in India in FY24 was an SUV, and the segment is set to grow further, given the ferocity of new launches from top car makers in the country.

This month, Tata Motors launched its first SUV Coupe Curvv, and French car maker Citroen introduced its Basalt Coupe – thereby adding to the excitement in the mid-size SUV market where about 50000 to 55000 units are sold monthly.