M&M Wont Go Beyond SUVs, Says Managing Director Anish Shah

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has no plan to go beyond sports utility vehicles even as it sets sight for new launches over the next six years. The range of vehicles to be launched by the company will meet the needs of different segments and customers that want SUVs, Managing Director Anish Shah told NDTV Profit's Niraj Shah in an interview on Friday.

In an investor presentation after the financial results, the auto major said it has planned 16 product launches in passenger vehicles by 2030. Through this, the company wants to create a strong and robust portfolio that essentially plays upon strengths that "we have been able to show through multiple launches in past years", according to Anish Shah.

Anish Shah (Source: Mahindra & Mahindra website)

The Mahindra Group chief executive officer said the demand of the recently launched XUV 3XO would be met by a combination of the vehicles already manufactured and capacity expansion from the current 9,000 vehicles to 10,500 vehicles, which will need marginal investment and less time. As of May 15, 11:00 a.m., XUV3XO had over 50,000 open bookings, according to investor presentation.

"We should be able to handle this well," he said, underscoring that this would be faster than XUV700, which was a little constricted by Covid.

The managing director said that the company needs to maintain an 18% return on equity in the current financial year and guided for a 15–20% earnings-per-share growth for the fiscal.

"We have committed to mid-teens-high teens growth in FY25, which again is probably (a) 2 times growth than the auto industry," Anish Shah said. He pointed out though the base of fiscal 2025 for the company is much higher, it would maintain that growth.

Also Read: M&M Shares Hit Record High On Target Price Hikes After March Results

Businesses Other Than Auto

On Tech Mahindra Ltd., Anish Shah said the company has had various challenges, but the new team is very focused to bring margin up to the peer level. The company plans to execute it by leveraging its strengths and addressing weaknesses.

With the new leadership, it will be a two–three-year turnaround. It will be the same for M&M Financial Services Ltd., he said.

For the defence arm, the Mahindra Group CEO said the company does not want to get into the "offensive parts" of defence. "We are very careful because we want to play only in very specific areas — transport and security."

This business will be benefitted by the company's existing strengths in trucks and buses, along with manufacturing and procurement. It plans to play in a select manner with high-quality products at compelling price points.

Anish Shah termed aerospace a long-term business that would take time, highlighting that the group had already "graduated" to become tier 1 suppliers for large aerospace companies across the world.