With the launch of an affordable range of new tractors under the brand name “Trakstar”, the country’s leading tractor seller, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), is targeting marginal farmers who usually cannot afford tractors. Trakstar would encompass products in the 30-50 horse power segment. Rajesh Jejurikar, president – farm equipment segment, M&M, said the new Trakstar models will be over 5-7% cheaper than the tractors that are currently in its portfolio. “While other regional players sell cheaper tractors, too, most don’t provide the facility to finance the buyer; we, on the other hand, will provide better and cheaper methods to finance the purchase,” added Jejurikar.
Trakstar will be manufactured by the company’s 60:40 joint venture with the government of Gujarat, Gromax Agri Equipment or Mahindra Gujarat Tractor, as it was named earlier. The company, however, does not expect a sudden rise in volumes due to the launch of Trakstar products. It is going to invest around Rs 150 crore in the Trakstar brand over a period of 3-5 years. Gromax’s Vadodara plant has a capacity of a mere 3,500 units annually, which contributes to a market share of around 0.5% of the domestic market. This will be the third brand under which the company will sell tractors apart from the M&M brand and the Swaraj brand of tractors. The company’s overall tractor market share – including all the brands – accounted for 45.8% of the country’s tractor sales in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal. Jejurikar expects the tractor industry to growth by around 10-12% this financial year. “Gromax will be an important element of our journey of transformation towards a higher penetration of farm mechanization, enabling farmers to double their income.
