The likely ban of diesel vehicles across the major cities is a matter of “concern” to the industry even as Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) continues to explore options in petrol variant, according to Pawan Goenka, Executive Director and President, Automotive.
The country’s largest utility vehicles manufacturer is also riding on the hopes of a robust monsoon this year.
“This is an area the industry is very concerned and the sector is pursuing its case. Considering the wide ban we are not in a position to revise our growth estimates,” Goenka said at a press conference to announce the company’s fourth quarter and financial year 2015-16 earnings.
“Going forward, because of the various forces at work, we will not be able to stay focused on diesel,” he said, adding M&M would introduce petrol variants of XUV and Scorpio this year.
Further in the next two-three years, the company will rollout petrol and diesel variants of all its models and look at hybrid variants later.
The National Green Tribunal is set to consider imposing a ban on the sale of large diesel-powered vehicles across 11 more cities, following its ban of diesel vehicles of over 10 years in six cities in Kerala.
M&M, which launched nine products in the automotive segment, including new products such as TUV300 and KUV100 last year, is unlikely to maintain that pace this year. “This year we won’t be making any new platform launch,” Goenka added.
With an above average monsoons expected this year, M&M’s farm equipment sector is expected to post good growth, Rajesh Jejurikar, President and CEO of Mahindra's Farm Equipment and two-wheelers said, without divulging details. “We are beginning to see positive signs,” he added.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a 105-106 per cent of the long-period average (LPA) for this year.
On a consolidated basis, M&M posted a 13.99 per cent rise in net profit at ₹668.14 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, from ₹586.11 crore recorded during the comparable period a year ago.
M&M’s standalone net profit for the three-month period ended March 31, 2016, rose 6 per cent to ₹583 crore from ₹551 crore a year earlier, buoyant on a strong sales of its newly-launched vehicles. The sales of existing products were also robust during the quarter, said Pravin Shah, President & CEO, Automotive.
On a standalone basis, the company’s net sales rose 14.48 per cent to ₹10,666 crore for the quarter.
source:Hindu Businessline
