- Thursday, February 27, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
MAHINDRA South Africa has achieved a new record for monthly sales since it first started selling its range of automobiles in the country almost two decades ago, the subsidiary of the Indian automobile manufacturer has said.
According to data released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), Mahindra hit a new all-time best sales figure of 1,010 in January. It marked a big 77 per cent rise over the corresponding month in 2021 and happened despite severe stock shortages and other disruptions caused in times of Covid-19 pandemic.
The locally made Mahindra Pick Up range remained the company’s best-seller with 618 units sold in January, continuing a trend of being one of South Africa’s three fastest-growing models in what is locally called ‘bakkie’.
Among Mahindra’s sport utility vehicles, the KUV100 NXT and Scorpio have outperformed expectations. While the former is popular with budget-conscious buyers looking for a highly capable compact SUV, the latter’s Adventure model proved to be a hit with South African families.
Rajesh Gupta, chief executive officer of Mahindra South Africa said the new sales record proves the hard work of the team at Mahindra SA and each of its 72 dealers. He said the past two years have posed challenges and there were frequent delays in shipment of vehicles from the company’s global plants besides other disruptions, such as the civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal — where the plant is based — last year.
Yet, the dealer network and the team kept the momentum high and it paid off, Gupta said.
The Indian manufacturer first set its foot in the South African market in 2004 with the commitment that it would make that country its second home outside of India.
It has invested steadily in its dealer network and customer service since then to make sure that its growth was matched by its service and support capacity.
Mahindra’s new sales record also creates a positive environment for what is expected to be a very busy year for the company. The runaway sales of special edition models such as the Mahindra Pik Up Karoo Dusk and the new Pik Up S6 Double Cab Automatic have been an indicator.
The launch of Mahindra’s new XUV700 model in South Africa later this year is expected to give the maker a further boost.
“We have a very ambitious target for the new year and set very high standards for our customer service team and our dealers. Like before, we will make sure our customer service and dealer capacity grow in step with our sales, and we trust that this will continue to win us many more fans,” Gupta said.
(With PTI inputs)
