After gaining full control of Mahindra Renault (MRPL), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will focus on making the loss-making car, Logan, a success. Other than a re-styled Logan, the company is planning a less-than-four-metre-long version, which will not only bring in excise benefits but also expand the target segment. ?It (less than 4-metre-long) will bring the excise duty down from 22% at present to 10%,? said Pawan Goenka, president, automotive & farm equipment sectors, M&M. He added that the focus is on how to turn around the product and make it a profit-making one for M&M. Currently, Logan prices start from around Rs 4.5 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai). Bloomberg has reported that Logan, being 4.237-meter-long, attracts an excise duty of 22% compared with cars having less than four meter of length attracting 10%. The differentiation, introduced by the government in February 2006, meant the sedan was ?priced out? from the market, according to Mahindra?s managing director Anand Mahindra.
?Renault?s plans in India have been set back by at least five years,? said Deepesh Rathore, a New Delhi-based analyst at IHS Global Insight before the announcement. ?Competition has moved ahead in all directions. Renault will have to do a lot of rebuilding.? M&M is also mulling a completely new product on the Logan platform to be designed by it in India. ?We are talking to Renault if we can build a new product on the Logan platform.? However, Rajesh Jejurikar, chief of operations, automotive sector, M&M, said the less than 4-metre-long cars would have the same engine.
