Mahindra South Africa upbeat about future

The fully-owned subsidiary of India's Mahindra & Mahindra in South Africa is upbeat about its progress and future in the country despite the current pressure on its currency.
Chief Executive Officer of Mahindra South Africa Sanjoy Gupta explained at the today's launch of a revamped model of its highly successful SUV500 model how sales have topped 5,000 since it first arrived in the country.
"We brought in the SUV in 2011, and in all the departments, whether it is price, features, quality or cost of ownership, it has stood out best," Gupta said.
The vehicle has been modelled on the fastest land animal, the cheetah, which is indigenous to South Africa.

Inputs from existing customers have led to further interior and exterior refinements based on the elegance and agility of the cheetah.
Gupta said the price of the new model would be retained despite the exchange rate which was currently very unfavourable for South Africa, touching R14 to the dollar.

"The parent company in India is quite a stable organisation. They take a very long term view about the market in South Africa and Africa as a whole and we therefore hope to keep the prices stable.
"In the past we have seen the rand (currency) move back from 13 to seven (to the dollar) and we believe there is also scope for that to happen again, and hence we will be patient."

"We are now expanding our operations into the entire African continent and this will not be an easy business commitment as we will have to snatch our share of the existing business.
"We are prepared to do that, and price becomes one of the most important considerations," Gupta added as he quoted a recent report which said 20 per cent of buyers saw price as the most important factor while a further 20 per cent were considering downgrading from their existing vehicles.
"We will therefore always be competitive in the market in terms of our pricing."
Gupta said plans were in place to expand the current dealer network of 58 outlets across the country to 70 by the end of 2016.

"We are taking a long-term view on this. We do understand that the entrepreneurs in the market would want to know more about Mahindra to ensure that they are putting their money in the right place."
Mahindra started in South Africa in 2004 with its Scorpio and Bolero brands, adding several more soon after that.