SUV specialist Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd joins small car race, launches Verito Vibe - Indian Express

Reuters : Mumbai, Wed Jun 05 2013, 18:02 hrs Mahindra will have to compete with established brands such as Maruti and Hyundai. (Reuters) Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd , India's largest sports utility vehicle (SUV) maker, has made its first push into the country's small car market a week after warning that fierce competition could erode its dominant SUV position. On Wednesday, Mahindra launched the Verito Vibe, a compact version of its sedan, at a starting price of 563,000 rupees ($10,000) - among the cheapest of its passenger vehicles. SUV sales have been a strong point for some manufacturers in India over the past year, even as sales of the smaller cars that account for most of the passenger vehicle market slumped. Having a presence in the small car market will be a positive if demand returns in the next fiscal year, but Mahindra will have to compete with established brands such as Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co . "Verito Vibe gives us the opportunity to play in the large and highly competitive compact car segment," Pravin Shah, head of Mahindra's automotive division, told reporters. The flagship company of the $16 billion Mahindra Group builds every other SUV sold in India, but its share in the segment fell to 48 percent in the fiscal year that ended in March from 56 percent a year earlier, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). In the passenger car segment, which excludes utility vehicles and vans, the company last year held less than 1 percent of the market that is dominated by Maruti Suzuki. Key to Mahindra holding its market share is not a small car but more SUV launches, some analysts say. "Mahindra will continue to lose market share in the overall passenger vehicle industry, because of lack of new launches (by Mahindra) in the SUV segment and an extremely competitive environment thanks to launches by their competitors," said Yaresh Kothari, an auto analyst with Mumbai-based Angel Broking. ... contd. ALSO READ Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad steps down as son becomes chairman Evalueserve to set up research unit in US, to hire 400 people RBI Governor D Subbarao says FSDC must limit itself to coordination Real Estate Bill: What's in it for property buyer Please read our terms of use before posting comments TERMS OF USE: The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s). via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGXfmwEQJ7-rRIRZpWS9eM0OaxHnQ&url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/suv-specialist-mahindra---mahindra-ltd-joins-small-car-race-launches-verito-vibe/1125430/

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2598265