[ringoism]

Originally Posted by GTO

IMHO, it was a bad idea for Mahindra to enter the two-wheeler space altogether. Not like their acquisition of a weakling (Kinetic) would have ensured a cakewalk anyway. The 2-wheeler market is completely different from cars and requires an entirely different skill set.

I'd read somewhere that Mahindra actually lost market-share YOY in 2015. This, from already being a marginal player.

Here's another quote on their state of affairs:

Source : Livemint

The sales figures you quoted are amazing to me, and obviously don't lie.

But in Mizoram over the winter, I saw Mahindra scooters absolutely dominating the market vs. the competition - maybe it's the performance/power-to-weight ratio on the steep hills??? And it's not as though Mizoram is less style-conscious / fashionable than other places (it's the Northeast, yar!), also evidenced in the fact of probably more of the new Vespas per capita up there than maybe anywhere else (absolutely prolific). I rode the sis-in-law's Flyte a number of times and found it pretty capable / enjoyable (as scooters go); loads of others up there must've thought the same. Hadn't discovered the Taiwanese origins till Googling the mysterious "Sym" badge. Always did feel that actual motorcycles were probably stretching the brand image too far, though...

While here in Himachal -another micro-market, the locals continue to LOVE another largely failed Indian entry - the Tata Nano.

Go figure...

-Eric

[Steeroid]

Mojo, Pantero, Duro...maybe they should release a bike named Zero that will be more appropriate for their current status in the two-wheeler market.

Mahindra has had two big successes in the Bolero and Scorpio. Getting carried away and hoping that an 'o' at the end of every name will replicate that success is a bit over-ambitious, though. The Thar, of course, is an honourable exception.

IMHO Mahindra have spread themselves really thin with less-than-successful forays in several different spaces purely through acquisition and not organic growth - two-wheelers (Kinetic), heavy vehicles (Navistar - not an acquisition but a greenfield investment), electric vehicles (Reva), Aerospace (Taneja) and their ambitious bids for fringe automotive firms like Saab and Pininfarina.

Unless they turn these businesses around, I'm not sure how long the Bolero/Scorpio success stories can continue to sustain the spending spree. Of course they would have a lot of $ left over from supplying Jeeps to the armed forces thanks to their license-raj monopoly for the better part of 40 years, but the question is whether that money is sufficient to sustain a conglomerate that has grown rather suddenly through acquisition over the last few years.

[payeng]

Maybe this would give a proper perspective:

"Imagine BAJAJ Auto comes up with a Budget Small Car (a proper car and not just a 4 wheeler like the RE60) which is pitted against the Market Leader - Maruti Alto..

[1] How much of a chance would it have among the common Indian entry level car buyer opting for it instead of the tried, tested and trusted Maruti Alto?"

[2] What chances would Bajaj (with no experience in Developing and Selling Cars) have in doing something which the likes of Hyundai, Tata and others have not been able to do so till now?



Common sense...

[anilp]

As an early owner of the Mahindra Flyte, it must be said that the product is good. We've had ours for the past five years, and it serves as our family's beater scooter for all heavy traffic commutes. It's in good condition despite being used by multiple people regularly. Similar is the case with other Mahindra scooters as well (I won't say the same thing about their motorcycles, though).

Mahindra messed up on three aspects which led to the death of these good products:

(1) Service Network: Incompetence is the standard practice in almost all Mahindra Two Wheeler ASCs. They should have selected their support network more carefully. After the first free service (that "experience" merits another thread), I moved to third party FNGs who have maintained our scooter very well. Most Mahindra Scooter owners I know have moved to good FNGs (like RNZ in Bombay) instead of trusting their vehicles to the inept Mahindra ASC tinkerers.

(2) Lack of marketing: Good products do not sell in today's world without sufficient brand visibility and awareness initiatives. When you have a Titan like the Honda Activa in front of you, hard core brand presence activities are critical. Which was the last year you saw a Mahindra Two Wheelers ad?

(3) Lack of commitment to the products from Mahindra honchos: Lack of proper supervision from the top was visible clearly from the time you walked into a Mahindra Two Wheeler showroom. For example, a metro like Mumbai had only one Mahindra Two Wheeler showroom at the the time. The dealership featured disinterested sales folks. A bit of supervision from the top would have gone a long way in ensuring better sales.

[Aromal]

Happen to visit nearby dealership of Mahindra Scooters (Infinite Motors Kayankulam) and contrary to what I saw in my earlier visits, the showroom felt like a deserted place. There are not much of display vehicles and the number of staffs has been cut down.

I don't think the lack of marketing is what let down the Mahindra Bikes. At least their first batch of bikes has some serious defects. My best friend owns a Centuro, it has some serious issues and happen to break down at least 8 times in the past.
The MCI-5(Micro chip ignited-5 curves) technology claims to deliver good balance of power and efficiency in all operating conditions, But at least in his case there is neither power nor mileage. Now a days he educate everyone to refrain from buying Mahindra Bikes and planning to buy some other 100 CC bikes preferably from Honda. Maybe mouth to mouth publicity is what put down the sales of Mahindra Bikes.

[The Great]

On a lighter note -

"MAHINDRA discontinues MOJO testing and custom modifications on test mules."

From the looks of it seems this bike is also going to suffer the same fate too. So many products discontinuation dents hugely on their reputation and brand trust which unfortunately the future launches will suffer.

[a4anurag]

Was browsing the sales figure thread on the Cars and found the link to the figures for Two-wheelers. Just compiled and made a small set of graphs depicting which manufacturer sells how much and how is their graph till date.

I can say Honda, Suzuki, TVS and Yamaha seems to be falling and growing but Hero Motors and Mahindra are only falling M-O-M! I'll keep a track and update these as and when the figures are available.

Here is the Data and two set of graphs that I compiled from Feb'15 to May'15:

Month-on-Month Sales:


Trend and Difference between manufacturers:


Individual graphs for Sales for each Manufacturer:


Why I have posted this here is showing where Mahindra stands against competition.

They either have to revamp their selling methods and staff or else sell only cars that they do well. The scooter market is very tricky and with giants in between Mahindra has to up its game with fresh products and sales + service. One must get impressed from the time one enters the showroom till they leave.

One must feel it re-visit the showroom and not walk-out due to frustration. Come on Mahindra!

PS: Thanks to Management Punditz for the figures.

[subhro1988]

A brief on the market share movement in the scooter segment.

[Sheel]

The segment in which Mahindra is plying, it is very hard to look away from Hero & Honda products.

Why would a customer look at a Mahindra 2-wheeler?

# From Splendor/Passion to Super Splendor & Shine, these guys have their bases covered, rarely one would look else where.

# There is no hall-mark or USP of any M&M product.

# Even in scooters, one ideally doesn't look beyond an Activa and if the eye-lids do stretch a bit more, there always is the Pleasure/Maestro.

Mahindra should ideally focus on its core products and work on something which will click after evaluating the market.

They should give out test-rides to few random folks and let them keep it for a few days to gauge bike's strengths and provide some feed-back, post which they can work on their product [further] and improve it.

Jay has got a Mojo 300 and his experience will be helpful, but that is just one sample size & it is a premium bike, so let us see. The main issue is, too much established [current] players in the market. And a really good product [read + outstanding] will excel.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by Sheel

The segment in which Mahindra is plying, it is very hard to look away from Hero & Honda products.

Why would a customer look at a Mahindra 2-wheeler?

# From Splendor/Passion to Super Splendor & Shine, these guys have their bases covered, rarely one would look else where.

# There is no hall-mark or USP of any M&M product.

# Even in scooters, one ideally doesn't look beyond an Activa and if the eye-lids do stretch a bit more, there always is the Pleasure/Maestro.

Bingo..!! You have the bull's eye.

The simple question "Why should anyone buy your product?" should be the beginning of business...

... the usual answers I have heard so far is "Features".. which is according to me is a Myopic view

Originally Posted by Sheel

Mahindra should ideally focus on its core products and work on something which will click after evaluating the market

... and this is the Toughest Nut to crack. Easier said than done.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by payeng

... and this is the Toughest Nut to crack. Easier said than done.

Features do click. Remember digital console with LED tail-lamps clicked with the Pulsar's? But then, they have to be backed by essentials [engine/brakes etc] as well.

See Hyundai? Along with competent engines, they have good features.

I too dunno, what would click for them, but for sure, they need to study the market more & do extensive R&D and work on reliability prior to launching a product. And look at the service aspect after launching a product.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Features do click. Remember digital console with LED tail-lamps clicked with the Pulsar's? But then, they have to be backed by essentials [engine/brakes etc] as well.

See Hyundai? Along with competent engines, they have good features.

I too dunno, what would click for them, but for sure, they need to study the market more & do extensive R&D and work on reliability prior to launching a product. And look at the service aspect after launching a product.

Features work when you are trying to make a mark in an "Emerging" Segment...

.. once the segment is mature, "features" does not have the same effect.


Eg: How many competitors have successfully managed to turn the tide against the Splendor and Activa with its "Features"?

.. or for that matter the Maruti 800/Alto?