[indianchiefrsd]

Read this article on the 31st December issue of Business Standard, found no threads on the matter on Team Bhp so decided to start one.

It talks about the launch of the Mahindra Maxximo at the '10 Auto Expo. It is slated to complete the Mahindra portfolio in the Indian LCV market with the Maxximo in the 1-1.5 tonne market. They plan to enter the market to compete with the Tata Ace which has about 90% market share and as the segment is slated to grow by 15-20% over the next 3-4 years.

They had earlier come up with the Gio for the .5-.8 tonne towards the latter half of '09.

There was also an article on the 28th December issue of Overdrive magazine on LCV's in India.

Apart from discussing the Maxximo which I hope looks Different(in a better sort of way) than the Gio. I was wondering if someone could shed more light o a couple of questions.

1. What would be factors to take into account while buying a LCV, apart from intial investment and FE.
2. How do majority of the consumers (many of whom I suspect aren't a part of Team Bhp) decide on buying a vehicle in this segement?
3. Is finance or Micro-finance in this segment higher/cheaper/better than that in other segments?

I am not aware of any other threads or discussions on the above questions. If there are then I apologize for my ignorance and would appreciate it if someone could post the links to those discussions.


Source: Mahindra to trump Ace with Maxximo

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by indianchiefrsd

Read this article on the 31st December issue of Business Standard, found no threads on the matter on Team Bhp so decided to start one.

It talks about the launch of the Mahindra Maxximo at the '10 Auto Expo. It is slated to complete the Mahindra portfolio in the Indian LCV market with the Maxximo in the 1-1.5 tonne market. They plan to enter the market to compete with the Tata Ace which has about 90% market share and as the segment is slated to grow by 15-20% over the next 3-4 years.

They had earlier come up with the Gio for the .5-.8 tonne towards the latter half of '09.

There was also an article on the 28th December issue of Overdrive magazine on LCV's in India.

Apart from discussing the Maxximo which I hope looks Different(in a better sort of way) than the Gio. I was wondering if someone could shed more light o a couple of questions.

1. What would be factors to take into account while buying a LCV, apart from intial investment and FE.
2. How do majority of the consumers (many of whom I suspect aren't a part of Team Bhp) decide on buying a vehicle in this segement?
3. Is finance or Micro-finance in this segment higher/cheaper/better than that in other segments?

I am not aware of any other threads or discussions on the above questions. If there are then I apologize for my ignorance and would appreciate it if someone could post the links to those discussions.


Source: Mahindra to trump Ace with Maxximo

It has a payload of 0.8 tonne which is a 200 kilos less than that of the Ace. As it is based on the Gio, it will look ugly as well. But, who cares for looks in the C market. The biggest advantage the Maxximo might have is in the engine department. It will come with a 900cc twin cylinder CRDe diesel engine featuring direct injection. This engine produces 25 Bhp and 55nm of torque, and this IMHO is the biggest advantage of the Maxximo over the lower powered Tata Ace. Also, the Maxximo will most probably be able to haul much more than 800 kilos if the overloaded Tata Aces are anything to go by.

Cheers,

Jay

[getsurya]

With M&M, the engine dept would work well. Sometimes I wonder if there is enough space on the roads to have all these products out there making loud decibel noises.

[PhiGolden]

Originally Posted by getsurya

With M&M, the engine dept would work well. Sometimes I wonder if there is enough space on the roads to have all these products out there making loud decibel noises.

I just hope that each one will be replacing a disgusting unstable and noisy 3 wheeled cargo auto contraptions

[punkuz]

I saw the advt on TV. Mahindra has really fallen in love with that horrendous toothy grill!
Apart from this, the truck looks cute!

[serpente]

To flashy a look is not at all important for Commercial vehicles because they are meant to deliver maximum work capacity and performance for optimum cost. Even then, I think that Maxximo is pretty trendy looking for a commercial vehicle. Whats more important is the new engine which Mahindra claims is the most advanced engine in the mini-truck segment. Maxximo with its 2-cylinder C2 CRDe engine with DOHC technology and 4 valves per cylinder is the first of its kind. This makes Maxximo very commercially viable.

[amtak]

Aiyyo! What is it with Mahindra? When will they learn that a smile is always apprciated than jaws!

[safari_lover]

^This looks much better than their Geo!

It can be a good competition to the Ace.

[serpente]

@Amtak ... Its brand positioning I guess. Mahindra prefers to stick to the 'Jaws' instead of a 'Smile' because it might not want to regress from or tone down on its Macho, Manly image.

[indianchiefrsd]

Just got a hold of the Mahindra Maxximo Site for more details.

@JayPrashanth - Corrections on the weight carrying capacity. It is a an 850Kg payload.

Now for a more detailed view on the matter.

The Engine - It has a new (world's first as claimed on the site) .9L 2 Cylinder C2 CRDe 2 engine which has 4 valves per cylinder and double over head camshafts so as to give a perfect balance of power and economy. By having 2 inlet and 2 outlet valves the efficiency with which the engine uses the fuel is increased and also the noise and harshness of the engine is reduced which is a very nice considering it'll help combat noise pollution caused by all the vehicles in this segment. The engine will also deliver 25BHp and 5.5 kg m torque. It also officially claims to have a 20Km/L FE which might be at a more realistic 17-18 which is not so bad.

This also means that the Maxximo will fare better at carrying loads while on Inclines, which can make it a worth while investment over the others.

It has a top speed of about 70Km/h which means that your car will not be inconvenienced by this LCV while driving.

There is a safety feature that senses the load and automatically adjusts the breaking power needed to stop the vehicle.

It also claims to have the most spacious cabin. All this means that it is a bit bigger in size than its competition and hence.

The looks aren't flattering but I don't think that matters in this segment. I mean its not like I'd feel any differently about this banging into my car if it looked any better.

Here is a list of features and its comparison to the Tata Ace, this is just preliminary the actual experts would need to comment. . What needs to be seen is the price of the Maxximo over the Ace. They havn't quite revealed the price as yet on the site. Any one got any info?



Source: MAHINDRA MAXXIMO, Tata Ace - India's first mini-truck

[agspins]

Looks like M&M bought ready made ACE and did some make up to pose as maxximo...

[Finject]

Honestly, when I heard that the Maxximo was going to be based on the Gio, I didnt think I would give Tata Ace any problems. However, after visiting their website (which by the way I feel is superb for a truck), and going through the features, I stand corrected. Actually, the engine I feel is the main weapon for M&M. The C2 CDRe engine promises a lot which is the first of its kind in the LCV Segment. This means the Maxximo will be much more powerful than the Tata Ace. Also, the load dispension is also almost 200cc higher. It looks decent enough for a LCV and honestly nobody is arsed enough about the looks if the vehicle gives a great performance.
Displacing any Tata Brand is very difficullt, especially when it has almost 90% of the market share. So it is going to be an uphill task for M&M.

That said, I have gone through their site and I have come out very impressed. It will be interesting to see however how it is placed compared to ACE in terms of pricing. Either ways, I think that M&M has pulled off a rabbit out of the hat.How much of a problem it gives ACE, we will soon know.

[HammerHead]

Now that can be called as an competitor to Tata ACE.
Engine: 909cc, 2Cylinder 4 Valves per cylinder DOHC

I was surprised to see such a nice website for a product like this.

Is Mahindra planning a Nano with this engine?

[quattroa4]

tata is dominating to such a extent that even piaggio is finding hard to break this monopoly with its ape truck. for mahindra whos reputation is already down with products such as champion , it will be hard to crack as this market is ruled by mouth to mouth publicity than anything else

[indianchiefrsd]

Originally Posted by indianchiefrsd

Just got a hold of the Mahindra Maxximo Site for more details.

@JayPrashanth - Corrections on the weight carrying capacity. It is a an 850Kg payload.

Now for a more detailed view on the matter.
=================

Okay so the picture I wanted to attach that has the comparisons hasn't quite come out as I planned. This is a second attempt at the same.