M&M opts for Haridwar as second base for Bolero

Buoyed by the success of the Bolero, Mahindra & Mahindra has begun using its new Haridwar plant in Uttarakhand as the second production base for this utility-vehicle along with Nashik.

 

“For the moment, there are only small numbers of the Bolero being generated at Haridwar which is useful from the viewpoint of servicing customers in the northern region,” top sources told Business Line.

 

The bulk of the production, they added, will continue at Nashik, which is also home to the Scorpio and Xylo. The Logan sedan, under the Mahindra-Renault umbrella, rolls out of another assembly line in this plant.

 

Star performer
The Bolero has been the star performer for M&M lately and accounted for annual sales of 56,000 units in 2008-09. Ancillary suppliers associated with the company say that it has the potential to sustain or even better these numbers this fiscal, which could then translate into monthly output of 5,000 vehicles.

 

The Nashik plant is gasping for capacity because the recently launched Xylo has had an overwhelming response from the market at a time when M&M had only earmarked 25,000 units annually. “The challenge is to meet delivery schedules, which means increasing capacity in the coming months,” sources said.

 

The rejuvenated, macho Scorpio has also been well received and is expected to do steady business of 3,000-and-odd units each month through the fiscal. In this backdrop, it only makes sense to use the Haridwar facility for the Bolero though the numbers are believed to be “quite modest” at around 1,000 units a month.