Auto makers shift to new areas for growth

Tag : eyebrow extension
MUMBAI: When Tata Motors, India's top bus and truck and formerlocomotive maker, unveiled its first car, the Indica hatchback, 10years ago, a chorus of detractors said they could not pull off thetransition. More than 1 million Indica cars later, Tata Motors hasjust completed the purchase of the luxury Jaguar and Land Roverbrands and will soon launch the world's cheapest car, the Nano.

So scarcely an eyebrow was raised on Wednesday when Mahindra &Mahindra Ltd the top utility vehicles and tractors maker, said itwas entering the two-wheeler market, the world's largest afterChina. Mahindra, which had already forayed into cars with theno-frills Logan sedan last year in a venture with Renault, is justthe latest in a long line of Indian vehicle makers that havestepped out of segments they had parked in for years to cash in onbooming demand.

"Two-wheelers is a natural fit and a natural extension for us,"Vice Chairman Anand Mahindra said after announcing the group wouldtake over the assets of two-wheeler maker Kinetic Motor for 1.1billion rupees ($26 million). "Two-wheelers is a 'bottom of thepyramid' opportunity and it will be a big trigger for growth as wewill address a whole new population," he said, using a term coinedby economist C.K. Prahalad to refer to the business potential amongthe poor.