ICE feels the ScorpioN sting: SUV maker M&M targets brand building

SUV maker plans to stay aggressive in cranking out new models

The all-new ScorpioN – or what its makers call the ‘big daddy of sport utility vehicles’ (SUVs) — is the last of the conventional fuel-based platforms that Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has introduced, even as the ‘billion-dollar global enterprise, driven by innovation and compassion’, plans to remain aggressive in cranking out new models to stay ahead in a competitive SUV market.

The exercise of refreshing the entire product portfolio with new-generation platforms it embarked upon a couple of years ago has concluded. Whatever new internal combustion engine (ICE) models the SUV and multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) maker rolls out from this day forward will be based on existing platforms introduced over the past four years, says the company’s senior executive.

A platform is a structure a car model is built upon and forms the basis for design of the axle, engine, wheelbase, power steering systems, suspension, etc.

“All this is part of a planned evolution of the platforms. We have created new platforms and we need to build on them. We will not need new ICE platforms anymore,” says Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director –automotive and farm sectors, M&M.

On June 27, M&M drove in the ScorpioN from its Chakan facility in Pune. The D-segment SUV, aiming to pull in buyers preferring the mid-sized and premium SUV segments, will go on sale this festival season. The bookings will start on July 30.

M&M has invested Rs 1,600 crore into the platform. It took the company four years to design and develop the model.  

In a bid to claw back share in a market where rivals have outsold their crossover/compact SUVs or soft-roaders, M&M re-crafted its SUV strategy three years ago. As part of this initiative, it launched the Thar (August 2020), the XUV7OO (October 2021), and the ScorpioN (broke cover on June 27). All three models are based on three distinct platforms and hardly have anything in common.  In addition, it has the XUV300 (based on the sub-compact crossover SUV SsangYong Tivoli) platform and the MPV Marazzo.  

Put on ‘ICE’

• End of the road for further new ICE platforms; new model launches to continue
• Has launched three completely new models since 2020
• M&M invested Rs 1,600 crore into the ScorpioN platform
• Monthly UV volumes to go up to 30,000 units: ICICI Securities

M&M has taken a conscious call to launch completely new models under existing brands instead of creating new ones. For instance, to create brand novelty and show that the product is superior in all aspects to the existing model, it simply added ‘N’ to the Scorpio.

“…to distinguish this new avatar somehow. Hence, the suffix ‘N’ signifies the exponential capabilities plus the original DNA. If some pronounce it ScorpioN, with a sting, well, we don’t mind!” Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra Group, had tweeted. Jejurikar says the company is likely to retain this brand strategy for some time now. “When we were working on the new-generation model, we dwelled on whether we wanted to call it Scorpio or something else. We decided to stick with the brand as it carries over the DNA and fits into the overall brand architecture.”

Similarly, the Bolero becomes the master brand, with the Neo and the Bolero; Scorpio has the Classic and the ScorpioN; the Thar is a niche brand; the XUV portfolio has the 300 and the 700 as of now; and the Marazzo is a carry-over from the past.

“The portfolio becomes very tight and we intend to build on this architecture as we move forward. That doesn’t mean we will never have a new brand,” clarifies Jejurikar.

M&M is not the only company to adopt this strategy. Its arch rival, Tata Motors, took a similar route. When it launched the all-new SUV – codenamed the Gravitas - it had the opportunity to launch a new nameplate, but chose to ride on the ‘tried-and-tested’ Safari instead.

M&M now plans to sweat the investments it has made in the recent past by ramping up production of the recently launched models. Supply-chain glitches, including the global semiconductor shortage, had prevented the company from making the most of its launches.

The latest addition to the portfolio will drive M&M’s utility vehicle volumes up to 30,000 units per month from the second half of 2022-23, wrote Basudeb Banerjee, analyst at ICICI Securities, in a recent note.

Against the present SUV wholesale run rate of around 26,000 units per month, it is expected to ramp up further to around 32,000-34,000 units per month in 2023-24. This will be led by the ScorpioN for which M&M has a capacity of 6,000 units a month - an increase of 2,000 units per month in the Thar capacity, he wrote.

The overall volume will also get a push from the gradual increase in chip supply, which, in turn, will augment the XUV700 monthly production by 1,000-6,000 units.