Swaraj Tractors forays into high power segment; rolls out new products

Swaraj Tractors, part of the USD 19 billion Mahindra Group, today announced its foray into high power segment by rolling out new products in the 60 horsepower (hp) to 75 hp category.
In the 50,000 units annual market size in over 50 HP segment, the company aims to become a significant player in this category by garnering 11 to 12 per cent market share in a span of one year.
"We are launching a new tractor platform by entering into 60 HP plus category," said the M&M Ltd Managing Director Pawan Goenka while talking to reporters through video conference.
"Today is a big day for Swaraj not only for its brand new platform which is happening after a long time, but also Swaraj is entering a new segment 60 plus hp segment which it did not represent," added Goenka.

The company unveiled the Swaraj 963 FE tractor, which is 60 hp, based on this new platform, with prices starting at Rs 7.40 lakh (ex- showroom). It will be available across its network of 875 dealers.
"The only gap the Swaraj has in its offerings up to now is not having a tractor in 60 plus hp range and today we are filing that gap by launching a brand new tractor in 60 Hp category," said Goenka.

The Swaraj 963 FE has been designed indigenously by Swaraj's in-house research and development team at Mohali, Goenka added.
"Today's launch will further strengthen the brand and help build a much stronger portfolio of tractors that will cater to a wide range of farming applications and geographical markets," he said.

It will be available in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive options, catering to the diverse requirements of its wide farmer base.
Rajesh Jejurikar, President(Farm Equipment), Mahindra & Mahindra said less than Rs 100 crore was spent on developing new tractor platform.
Asked about the market size of 60 hp to 75 hp, company's sales head Rajiv Rellan said, "...the industry size of more than 50 hp capacity is 50,000 units and it is growing at present.
"As the farm mechanization is going and labour shortage is already there, we want to become a significant player across the country in this segment and we want to command around 11-12 per cent market share in the first year in this segment," he further said, adding Punjab was also a focused market for this new product.

Earlier, Goenka said that the company expected to sell 1,10,000 Swaraj tractors in current fiscal.
"This year, we expect to sell 1,10,000 Swaraj tractors. There is a growth of almost 13 per cent CAGR consistently for 13 years," he said adding that Swaraj, which was bought in year 2007, had the second highest market share in the country.
Viren Popli, Chief Operating Officer, Swaraj Division said, "The launch of the 963 FE is based on our new tractor platform in the 60 hp to 75 hp segment.
"This is a brand new platform that is designed to continue and enhance our promise of power, reliability and application suitability. The tractor has been designed especially for farmers who have specialised needs and large farms."

The Swaraj 963 FE will be available in Punjab, Amdhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh to begin with and will be rolled out pan India by the end of 2018 in a phased manner, official said.