M&M eyes mini truck segment

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), maker of tractors, and utility and commercial vehicles, is poised to take on Tata Motors by launching a 'Tata Ace like' vehicle.

Sources in the industry said M&M issued RFQs (request for quotations) a month ago to component makers for an LTV (light tonnage vehicle), with Tata Ace as the reference point.

M&M is already present in the commercial vehicle segment with its light commercial vehicles and three-wheelers range.

With the new launch, the company will foray into the mini truck range, a segment created in May last year by Tata Ace, which has turned out to be a grand success.

However, an M&M spokesperson said there were no immediate plans to launch a vehicle in the segment. "We are currently working on our CNG three wheelers and the updated version of the Champion Alfa, which has received a great response from the market," said a company executive.

However, at this stage it is not clear from which location M&M will roll out the LTV.

While the industry sources said its plant in Rudrapur, Uttaranchal, might be used for this, company executives said this location made tractors for the company and would not be used for any other product.

In Uttarancahal, M&M also has a new plant in Haridwar, where three-wheelers are made.

This location suffers from space constraints, with a total area of 55 acres that the company shares with Neel Metal, a sheet metal marker.

A state official said M&M had asked for additional land in Haridwar for expansion plans and also suggested an adjoining and unused air strip to be converted into a industrial plot.

But the state communicated its inability to do this, he added.