Anand Mahindra admits entering two-wheeler commuter space was a mistake
Anand Mahindra said they entered the two-wheeler market with the confidence to "win", on the back of having a strong understanding of the ecosystem, distribution, R&D and also brand positioning
- Dec 12, 2019,
- Updated Dec 12, 2019 12:36 PM IST
Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the homegrown auto group Mahindra & Mahindra, on December 11 admitted that entering the commuter bike segment more than a decade ago was a failure on the part of the group.
The group entered two-wheelers after buying out Kinetic Motors in July 2008 and relaunched the 'Freedom' bikes under the label of 'Mojo' but has not been able to make a mark in the vastly entry-model driven two-wheeler space in the country even after a decade.
The market is dominated by Hero Motorcorp and Japanese major Honda which together control close to two-thirds of the over 21-million units per annum market.
Of this, Mahindra sold a paltry 4,004 units in FY19, down 73 per cent from FY18. The only player in an over a dozen OEM market behind Mahindra is Kawasaki Motor which sold 3,115 units in the year, according to Siam data.
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Of this, commercial vehicles sales were down 12 per cent at 17,384 units, PV sales fell 10 per cent to 14,637 units and farm equipment volume plunged to 20,414 units from 25,159 units in November 2018.
Asked about the economy, where growth has slipped to six-year low and pessimistic headlines galore, Mahindra advised everyone to have faith in their inner selves.
He declined to answer specific questions on industry doyen Rahul Bajaj's comments on fear among corporate leaders, and also one on his opinion of bankers.
Mahindra said an entrepreneur has to take risks and termed the same as "fun", and that time has come for us to look beyond bottom-lines and into multi-stakeholder capitalism.
Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the homegrown auto group Mahindra & Mahindra, on December 11 admitted that entering the commuter bike segment more than a decade ago was a failure on the part of the group.
The group entered two-wheelers after buying out Kinetic Motors in July 2008 and relaunched the 'Freedom' bikes under the label of 'Mojo' but has not been able to make a mark in the vastly entry-model driven two-wheeler space in the country even after a decade.
The market is dominated by Hero Motorcorp and Japanese major Honda which together control close to two-thirds of the over 21-million units per annum market.
Of this, Mahindra sold a paltry 4,004 units in FY19, down 73 per cent from FY18. The only player in an over a dozen OEM market behind Mahindra is Kawasaki Motor which sold 3,115 units in the year, according to Siam data.
Also Read:
Of this, commercial vehicles sales were down 12 per cent at 17,384 units, PV sales fell 10 per cent to 14,637 units and farm equipment volume plunged to 20,414 units from 25,159 units in November 2018.
Asked about the economy, where growth has slipped to six-year low and pessimistic headlines galore, Mahindra advised everyone to have faith in their inner selves.
He declined to answer specific questions on industry doyen Rahul Bajaj's comments on fear among corporate leaders, and also one on his opinion of bankers.
Mahindra said an entrepreneur has to take risks and termed the same as "fun", and that time has come for us to look beyond bottom-lines and into multi-stakeholder capitalism.