M&M to export customised vehicles

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the market leader in the utility vehicles(UV) segment with a 57 per cent share, is now looking at exporting customised UVs as collectors’ items.

It offers customisation on its existing platforms like the Scorpio, Bolero and the Classic and can eventually offer value-adds on the newly launched Xylo. The range include the Bolero Inspira, Bolero Stinger, Bolero Limited Edition, Scorpio First, Scorpio Body Kit, Scorpio Gateaway Lifestyle, and the Souvenir Concept, which is an adaptation of the Jeep-look alike vintage UV called the ‘Classic’ as M&M does not own the ‘Jeep’ brand.

“Some of these vehicles have a significant demand in Saarc countries, South Africa and Egypt”, said J S Nanda, deputy general manager, automotive sector and the head of customisation, M&M. Mahindra, however, does not plan to export huge volumes as that would spoil the niche value of the cars. “We can export may be 10-20 vehicles of a type as collectors’ items across the globe according to dealer requirements”, Nanda added.

Besides exports, the company has plans to leverage the vintage value of some its cars like the Classic and sell them to resorts and boutique hotels for desert and wildlife safaris. “The CL 550 Major, that is an offshoot of the of the Mahindra CL series or the Mahindra Jeep, is still in production and we are keen to leverage the cult value of the brand”, Nanda said.

It is present in this customisation segment for the last two years and has already supplied customised fleet to companies like Kingfisher Airlines, Bayer India, apart from car rental companies, police and municipal and forest departments. “We are the only player in the UV segment to offer customised solutions to our customers”, said a Mahindra spokesperson.

To popularise the concept of collectors’ edition of vehicles, M&M also makes custom-made deliveries to celebrities. It recently designed a customised Bolero Stinger to Indian cricket team opener Gautam Gambhir in Delhi last week. Today it delivered a tailor-made Scorpio Gateaway Lifestyle to Bhaichung Bhutia, Indian football team skipper that has a motorised sun-roof, stainless steel guards all over, a cargo bay with a motorised cover as well a BB15 etched on the car’s seats and the sides. “It is a way of connecting with the customers”, said Vivek Nayer, senior vice-president, marketing, automotive sector of M&M. He also informed that while the price premium depended on the degree of customisation, these were typically priced around Rs 3.5 lakh above the base models.