Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) Limited, the country's favourite Utility Vehicle (UV) maker, is all geared up towards upgrading its Indian portfolio with the arrival of the Rexton Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) from the stables of its South Korean subsidiary, SsangYong Motor Company. The Rexton will see the Indian daylight on October 17, 2012 and is anticipated to come with a launch price tag close to Rs. 20 lacs.
The apex industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) announced that it has cut the projected growth of the Indian automobile industry for the ongoing fiscal. However, M&M is positive that the recent gloom will not affect its growth projection for 2012-2013 and the sales of its new products Quanto and the upcoming Rexton will help the company in accomplishing its sales estimates. Reportedly, M&M registered bookings exceeding 5,000 units of the compact SUV Quanto, which was launched in the domestic market on September 20, 2012.
Top industry boffins are positive that the addition of Rexton could spearhead M&M's campaign in the premium SUV segment of the Indian auto market. At present, the Indian UV maker has a number of successful SUVs like Bolero, Scorpio, XUV500 and the recently launched compact Quanto in the domestic market. The country's premium SUV market is highly competitive with top-class products like Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Ford Endeavour and Hyundai Santa Fe, all of which are priced closed to Rs. 20 lacs mark. M&M's most expensive offering is currently the XUV500 SUV that comes in a price bracket close to Rs. 11 lacs and Rs. 15 lacs. Hence, the arrival of SsangYong Rexton will enable M&M to pitch a high end SUV against the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Hyundai Santa Fe.
The company has an enviable success rate in 2012 with the domestic audience embracing XUV500 and Quanto with both hands. Therefore, the yet-to-be launched SsangYong Rexton is anticipated to continue the successes of its cousins as M&M will be looking towards ending 2012 on a good note.
