With a portfolio laden with SUVs, Mahindra & Mahindra is on a roll. The company, which continues to ride the surging demand for this model type in India, has reported domestic market wholesales of 43,218 units in May 2024.
This constitutes strong 31% year-on-year growth (May 2023: 32,883 units) and marks the fifth month in a row that M&M has surpassed the 40,000-unit dispatches mark (see data table below). May 2024’s dispatches are also the highest yet in the calendar year to date, and just 490 units below M&M’s best-ever monthly wholesales of 43,708 units in October 2023.
The 43,218 units in May 2024 are the highest yet in the year to date, and just 490 units below the 43,708 units in the festive month of October 2023.
Vehicle dispatches in the first two months of FY2025 at 84,226 units are up 25% YoY (April-May 2023: 67,577 units), while cumulative sales in the first five months of CY2024 at 210,326 units are up 26% (January-May 2023: 166,972 units). In FY2024, M&M had sold a record 459,877 units, up 28%, and 433,172 units in CY2023, up 29% year on year.
Demand continues to be strong and as of May 1, 2024 (and May 15 for the recently launched XUV 3XO), M&M had total open bookings of 220,000 units. These comprise the flagship XUV700, Scorpio N and Scorpio Classic, Bolero, Thar and the new XUV 3XO.
In the highly competitive market for utility vehicles, M&M, which has eight SUVs (Bolero, Bolero Neo, Scorpio, Scorpio N, Scorpio Classic, Thar, XUV300/XUV3XO, XUV400 and XUV700), is extremely well placed to capitalise on the surging demand for this vehicle type.
Customer deliveries of the latest Mahindra – the XUV 3XO – which was launched on April 29 have commenced. Priced aggressively from Rs 749,000, the XUV 3XO is targeted to be new disrupter in the compact SUV market, which saw sales of over a million units in FY2024 and accounted for 25% of the record 2.52 million UV dispatches in India.
According to Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, M&M, “We sold a total of 43,218 SUVs in May, a growth of 31% over last year. As we opened bookings on May 15 (for the 3XO), we were delighted to receive an overwhelming response. Within the first hour of opening bookings, we hit the 50,000 mark.”
M&M doubles factory output speedily
Meanwhile, as a result of having considerably ramped up production at its factories, the waiting periods for most Mahindra SUVs has reduced. From monthly production capacity of 19,000 units at the end of FY2020, the company has consistently increased output to 39,000 units (469,000 units per annum) by end-FY2023 and to 49,000 units (588,000 units per annum) by end-FY2024. Now, it has outlined monthly production of 64,000 units for FY2025 (768,000 units per annum capacity) and 72,000 units (864,000 units per annum) by end-FY2026.
By March 2025 or end of FY2025, there is to be a 5,000-unit increase in monthly production capacity for three models. This includes the new Thar five-door SUV, which is slated to be launched in mid-2024 and produced on a separate assembly line, the recently launched XUV 3XO compact SUV, which has drew 50,000 bookings in the first hour of bookings opening, and the all-electric XUV400. What’s also planned is an additional EV capacity of 8,000 units per month by end-FY2026.
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