Mahindra rejigs truck and bus operations

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. had reaffirmed its commitment to its truck and bus division, renaming the erstwhile Mahindra Navistar Automotive Ltd. as Mahindra Trucks and Buses Ltd. (MTBL), which is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the US $16.2 billion Mahindra Group. Subject to regulatory approvals, the company also intends to demerge its trucks and buses operations from MTBL into Mahindra & Mahindra to derive greater synergies. It also announced plans to invest Rs 200 crores to further strengthen its existing product line up and start exploratory work for new product lines that could lead to further capital infusion of over Rs. 300 crores in due course. Mahindra Trucks and Buses Ltd. has also announced new branding for its heavy commercial vehicle range. The multi-axle trucks will now be called Mahindra Truxo 25 and Truxo 31; Tractor Trailers will be called Mahindra Traco 35 and Traco 40; and the tippers will be called Mahindra Torro 25 and Torro 31. Speaking on this new development, Dr. Pawan Goenka - President Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., noted, “We are fully committed to our commercial vehicles business and intend to focus on running the LCV, truck and bus business as a separate division post the proposed demerger, with the objective of growing our presence in the Indian commercial vehicle industry. We plan to invest significant resources over the next few years which will help us strengthen our existing product range and refurbish the current LCV range. Exploratory work has also begun for the introduction of new products that will help address the ICV and MCV segments in the 7.5 to 16 ton GVW category.”