Mahindra Truck & Bus, part of the Mahindra Group, is working to surpass its peak performance from FY19 by FY27. Jalaj Gupta, Business Head of Commercial Vehicles at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., shared their detailed strategy to achieve this goal.
The Indian truck market is changing quickly. In FY19, half of the heavy-duty trucks were multi-axle. By 2024, only a third are multi-axle, while 55% are now 48-tonne trucks. This shows how customer needs are evolving.
New regulations, like mandatory AC in 2025 and ABS for smaller vehicles, add complexity. Mahindra aims to predict future customer demands to stay ahead. In the heavy-duty truck market, engine choice is key. While most competitors use four-cylinder engines for larger trucks, Mahindra focuses on higher tonnage segments with six-cylinder engines for more power and durability. This approach also applies to the tipper market, where Mahindra sees a need for robust six-cylinder engines in heavy-duty work.
Mahindra recently entered the 28 and 35-tonne tipper segments with the M-Dura and plans to launch 48-tonne tippers soon. They see potential in areas like solid waste management, city cleaning, and mobile medical units, including ambulances. There’s also demand from border road and paramilitary forces.
In the construction equipment sector, Mahindra leads in motor graders with a 27% market share and holds the fifth spot in backhoe loaders with 2.7% market share. In the bus segment, 90% of Mahindra’s business comes from school buses, but they aim to expand in staff transportation with new front-door buses. Gupta explains their two-pronged strategy: expanding their product range and improving market share by outpacing industry growth.
