Mahindra Truck & Bus could delay launch of some products due to reduced window for sale of BS-IV vehicles

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) on Friday launched updated series of Blazo X trucks which is claimed to deliver better fuel efficiency than the previous model. On the sidelines of the launch, Mahindra Truck & Bus (MTB) has said that the launch of some of its products with BS-IV will have to be considered again due to the Supreme Court ruling last month. On October 24, the apex court ruled that no Bharat Stage - IV vehicle would be allowed to be sold in the country starting 1st April 2020 and that BS-VI emission norms would be adopted.

Mahindra Truck and Bus division had planned to launch a total of 21 products from the ICV Furio platform by 2020, including six under the existing BS-IV emission norms. But now, one or two of these products may have to be delayed because the window for BS-IV norms has reduced, said Vinod Sahay, chief executive officer, Mahindra Truck and Bus division.

Sahay explained that if the ban on BS-IV vehicles was four years away, all 21 products would have been planned in BS-VI norms because then it would have had much more time to recover the investment.

Mahindra Blazo X heavy commercial vehicle launched in India: Adds Kashmir to Kanyakumari Service corridor for trucks

According to the Supreme Court ruling, the new emission norms will be coming into play from April 1, 2020, and hence there is no reason for launching absolutely new products just a few months ahead of new regulations, he added. While the company initially planned to launch six new vehicles with BS-IV engines, now it will launch four or five.

The Blazo X has been priced Rs 25000 more than the older Blazo which is now discontinued. Mahindra, however, did not specify the price range of the Blazo X series. The company has sold 21,000 Blazo trucks since its launch in 2016, which helped M&M increase its volume and double its market share growth in commercial vehicle segment.