Mahindra & Mahindra, who solely launched the Renault Logan now known as Verito sedan, following their split with JV partner Renault, is reaping more success than it did with their former partnership with Renault.
After M&M bought back its stake in Mahindra Renault in April 2010, the home grown manufacturer was able to make a significant rise in the sedan’s popularity in the C-segment in India since the past couple of months. The company dropped the Renault badging from the car, and changed its name to Verito from Logan in April 2011.
The company now has more plans for the sedan, and are taking initiatives for hastening the introduction of its 2 new variants, of which one is an under four meter car, and the other is a refreshed variant. The models are expected to launch this fiscal year itself. till then the company will continue producing the Verito sedan equipped with Renault engines. They however have plans of localising the motor.
The Verito sedan managed to sell 1,510 models, last month, in comparison to the 563 units it sold in June 2010, in the process, gaining a 5% market share in the Indian C-segment market.
The Sr. VP of the company, Arun Malhotra, said that they have completed launching the Verito pan-India. The South Indian market, especially that of Tamil Nadu has shown to be their strongest market. In Kerala alone, the company managed to almost double their market share.
The increase in sales was further boosted by a Verito campaign that featured a Verito man. M&M will also be increasing this campaign to different media including radio and digital.
Malhotra added that the company was getting ready to introduce 2 new variants of the Verito; however they are not willing to provide a timeframe for the launch of these variants. He said that while one of the variants is a totally refreshed variant, the other will be under four meters small car.