Mahindra & Mahindra launches 110-cc scooter Gusto

MUMBAI: Mahindra & Mahindra aims to quadruple monthly sales of its motorcycles and scooters to 80,000 units in the next 2-3 years by selling smaller models, a move it hopes will bring it closer to taking on much more powerful rivals such as Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto.

“In India, 90% of the market is about 110 cc two-wheelers while the rest is accounted for by 125 cc models. We have so far concentrated on the niche segment but will be moving to the popular segment now,” Rajesh Jejurikar, CEO, farm equipment and two-wheeler division at M&M.

To that end, the company on Monday introduced the 110 cc Gusto scooter, branding it as its first global scooter. Mahindra is selling it for Rs 43,000 at showrooms in Delhi. The launch of Gusto comes at a time when the automatic scooter market is outpacing the motorcycle market and is growing by over 20-25%. It already constitutes a significant a quarter of the overall two-wheeler market at 3.6 million units annually.

The share of scooters has more than doubled in the last 5-7 years, as the acceptance amongst the boys/men has increased significantly over the last few years, a trend which Mahindra aims to cash in on with Gusto.

Such is the optimisim about future growth trend of scooters that Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India, the segment leader, is setting up the largest scooter plant in world in Gujarat in the coming 12 months. It’s difficult to gauge how far Mahindra’s new strategy will take its twowheeler business, given where it is now.