Mahindra to STOP producing XUV300, Scorpio, Bolero, XUV500 & more for 13 days: Here’s why

The auto industry in India has been witnessing a serious sales slowdown since the past few months. In order to counter the low demands, various manufacturers are offering big discount schemes on their model lineup to attract buyers towards their dealerships. The overall passenger vehicle sales in India went down by nearly 17 per cent in April this year which is the worst monthly fall in nearly eight years. In the wake of rising inventory and lowering demands, Mahindra has decided to shut production across its manufacturing plants for up to 13 days. This means that models like the XUV300, Scorpio, Bolero, and XUV500 among others will not be made for the notified time period.

One of the largest Indian auto manufacturers, Mahindra issued a notification on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) saying,

“The Company at its Automotive Sector and Farm Equipment Sector, and Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (‘MVML’), as part of aligning its production with sales requirements, would be observing ”No Production Days” ranging between 5 – 13 days in various plants of the Company and MVML during the first quarter of the Financial Year 2019-2020. The Management does not envisage any adverse impact on the availability of vehicles in the market due to the adequacy of vehicle stocks to serve the market requirements.”

Mahindra & Mahindra sold a total of 43,721 vehicles in April 2019 compared to 48,097 vehicles during April 2018. This is a decline of about 9 per cent when comparing the total sales in both months. Apart from Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki has also reduced its production for the fourth consecutive month in May. Popular models like the Bolero, Scorpio and XUV500 have been strong sellers for the brand but have not been doing very well of late. The XUV500 has been facing tough competition in the segment from the Tata Harrier which has further weakened its position. The Bolero has been a popular model in the semi-urban and rural areas but lowering demands across all segments have affected it too.

The XUV300 and the Marazzo MPV have been doing well in their respective segments and are among the top sellers amongst their rivals. The XUV300 took the second best seller spot in the sub-4 meter SUV segment a month after its launch, which now has been taken by the Hyundai Venue. Mahindra is currently working on the new generation models of the Thar, Scorpio and the XUV500. The Thar and Scorpio have already been spotted testing and will be launched next year. All three of these vehicles will be BNSVAP safety standards and BSVI emission norms compliant but will be priced higher than their current models. In the coming months, Mahindra will launch the automatic transmission variants of the XUV300 and the Marazzo which could lead to a spike in sales as automatic cars are getting increasingly popular these days.