Mid-range models like XUV300, Thar and Bolero proved to be the wind behind sails of Mahindra & Mahindra’s 27% sales growth in November, according to the numbers released by the company today.
On the other hand, sales of both entry-level as well as higher priced models, such as KUV100 and XUV500, proved to be a drag on the company’s overall performance.
Besides the newly launched Thar, the best performers were XUV300 — priced in the Rs 9.5 lakh category, and Bolero, priced in the 6.5 lakh category.
Among the poorest performers were entry-level SUVs such as TUV300 and KUV100. The number of TUV300s sold in November fell to 0 from 618 last year, while the number of KUV100s sold in November fell to a mere 23 from 79 last year.
Declines could be seen in the two of the most expensive UVs from the stable of Mahindra & Mahindra: XUV500 and Marazzo.
XUV500 sales fell to 892 from 986 last year, while those of Marazzo fell to 226 from 1,007 last year.
Sales of Bolero Plus/Power Plus increased to 6055 this year from 5081 last November.
Sales of Alturas G4, priced in the Rs 35 lakh range, was zero this November, compared to 23 last November.
On a positive trend, sales of XUV300 doubled to 4,458 compared to just 2,224 in November last year, driven by strong demand for the petrol version. Sales of the petrol version of XUV300 tripled to 2,488 in November this year compared to the same month last year.
However, the biggest increase in sales was on account of the Thar, which sold 2,569 units this year compared just 53 last year, thanks to the launch of the revamped model.
Sales of more premium models of Mahindra have been suffering due to increased competition from international brands such as Kia, Hyundai, Toyota and Ford.
XUV300, and the new Thar, are the only models that seem to have held their own in the flood of new models launched in the SUV category over the last 12-18 months.
Overall, sales of utility vehicles jumped 27% in November compared to the same month of last year. In October, they had risen by just 3%.