A year after it took complete control over Mahindra Renault (MRPL) from its French partner Renault, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is all set to accord its branding to the sole product from the joint venture ? the Logan .
The Logan, sporting the M&M logo, will be rolled out in the next two months. Rajesh Jejurikar, chief executive, automotive division, M&M, said, ?We will be changing the branding on the Logan with M&M logo within two months, but it would not be a facelift. There will be no styling changes for now and we plan to launch a facelift in 2012.?
Asked about the less than four-metre long Logan, Jejurikar, said, ?It is still in the development stage and I cannot give you a timeline for the same.? The company also has plans for a completely new product on the Logan platform, for which it had said it is talking to Renault.
This will be the second major move from M&M on the Logan after the price rationalisation that the former undertook on the model immediately after Renault?s exit in April last year.
Post the price rationalisation, the Logan has witnessed strong volume growth. In the period extending from April to February 2010-11, 8,991 units of Logan were sold as against 4,981 units in the same period last year, a growth of 81%. The model?s volumes had dropped to as lower than 500 units per month in the last leg of the Mahindra-Renault marriage.
Logan has been in the market since 2007 under MRPL and gathered good response in the first full year of sale in the country. The Logan is a Dacia design and was developed with east Eruopean market in mind, where it was a successful low-cost car. In 2008, the Logan volumes were strong at close to 20,000 units, which trembled to under 6,500 in 2009 (calendar year).
MRPL was established as a 51:49 JV between M&M and Renault in 2005 to manufacture and sell the Logan car.
The Logan is manufactured at M&M?s plant in Nashik. In April 2010, the two companies parted ways with M&M buying Renault?s equity stake in MRPL resulting in MRPL becoming a 100% Mahindra group-owned company. As per the agreement with Renault, M&M was allowed to continue with Renault name and logo on the Logan till the end of 2010.