[a4anurag]

Brave move IMO.

I feel that the existing customers would just sell off their scooters anticipating servicing issues. I am telling this as three of my colleagues have these scooters and are now worried. They would be selling it and going for Activa! Not sure of that's a wise decision to sell these off.

There were rumours last year that Mahindra's Two wheeler division had discontinued the Pantero bike but the company announced later that it wasn't the case. However, now, it's a different story altogether. Failing to show any sales performance the company has taken the decision to discontinue not one but four bikes - the Pantero, Duro, Flyte and the Kine.

It might seem like a drastic measure to many, to discontinue 4 vehicles, but it is a very brave decision. It shows that the company is making way for new products and not hanging on to those which are non-performing ones. Its just makes good business sense then because the company will focus all their energy on bringing out the 300cc Mojo which is coming next month as it is a make or break model for Mahindra.

http://auto.ndtv.com/news/mahindra-t...nd-kine-780145

[libranof1987]

At the same time, Mahindra is heavily promoting their new two-wheelers (Gusto and Centuro).

Almost every other add on any channel is either the short or long version of that ad featuring both the vehicles. I wish they did a better job though; or at least found a better singer.

[ashis89]

My FNG says though Mahindra scooters are not bad, the spares are very rare to find due to the low volume of scooters on road. Last month, my friend was in market for a scooter and was seriously considering the Duro for its simple old-school style, more power and exclusivity on our roads. I strongly suggested to steer clear of Mahindra and suggested the Suzuki twins instead if power was important or the Jupiter if he wanted something new. Finally I recommended the Activa if he wanted the safest and the most boring bet. He bought the Activa.

IMO Mahindra taking over Kinetic made a dent in the image of the company. People had started losing faith in Kinetic after Honda entered the market. Mahindra brand couldn't strengthen the image of the 2-wheeler division. Slight failures in the 2-wheelers made customers more skeptical. For example: I have heard people talk at FNGs. When they saw a Flyte getting its gearbox repaired, they just said "These old Kinetic products are poor quality. These have used chinese components which fail very soon. Always buy Honda Activa". The irony was, there were two Honda Activas (one old & other a facelifted one) getting their engines repaired. Similarly I have seen people pre-judge a Pantero too.

M&M seems to have done the right thing in starting from scratch with new models. It should advertise about the product development so that people know about these "all new" products. But discontinuing old models abruptly will also erode its brand image.

[arnabchak]

A wrong move and at the wrong time.

Good scooters that begged to be promoted more aggressively.

I have driven all the scooters that compete with the Duro(except the Jupiter).

Duro came out triumphs in all departments probably just a notch below the Suzuki!!
The build quality was also a notch better than the Activa.
The Activa with just 6K on the odo was rattling and shaking vs the 33K on the Duro.

Yes, the brand image suffered but it gave a lot more than the others in terms of riding pleasure.

Pantero suffered from the product cannibalization from its Centuro range.
Not much to differentiate and no major USPs other than probably the low price range.

[GTO]

IMHO, it was a bad idea for Mahindra to enter the two-wheeler space altogether. Not like their acquisition of a weakling (Kinetic) would have ensured a cakewalk anyway. The 2-wheeler market is completely different from cars and requires an entirely different skill set.

I'd read somewhere that Mahindra actually lost market-share YOY in 2015. This, from already being a marginal player.

Here's another quote on their state of affairs:

In 2014-15, M&M two-wheelers sold 165,344 units. This is what market leader Hero MotoCorp. Ltd sold in 10 days. Even India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd, the fifth-largest in the pecking order, sold close to 3.5 times more—565,273 units. M&M’s two-wheeler business registered a loss of Rs.459.29 crore, almost doubling its losses of Rs.263.86 crore in 2013-14.

Source : Livemint

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by arnabchak

A wrong move and at the wrong time.

Good scooters that begged to be promoted more aggressively.

I have driven all the scooters that compete with the Duro(except the Jupiter).

Duro came out triumphs in all departments probably just a notch below the Suzuki!!

Agree with you arnabchak,
I own a Duro since April 2011 and I am happy with the reliability and power. Duro also offers me very big luggage space and a comfortable big footboard. It's petrol tank can accommodate around 6.5 lit. The FE is around 40 kmpl in city.

The niggles I had: speedometer cable breakdown at 28000 km, cracks in the fuel pipe from tank (at the place where it fits over the carburetor), battery failing in 1.5 years and mirrors getting loose in 2 years. I broke the bag-hook.

No unexpected breakdowns. I use to change the oil and clean the air filter on my own. Rest of the service now done at FNG.

ASS experience was average. The new speedometer cable failed within 500 km, mirrors and bag-hook were never in stock. I replaced the battery on my own and it works fine.

Now, we also bought a Hero Pleasure in July 2013 and we had exactly same cracks in the fuel pipe, battery failure. The service center is very crowded. Here to, the spares were not available easily; my daughter once broke the starting switch and they did not have it in stock. After repeated follow-up, they fitted a horn switch there.

So, IMO, Mahindra Duro is a good product, I found TVS product better than this (except the luggage space and fuel tank capacity) but do expect similar niggles there too. I found the TVS dealers and service centers more responsive.

Duro is a good product but they could not build the brand properly. IMO, new products wont help unless they are marketed properly and unless their image is built properly.

[CliffHanger]

I'm sure the MBAs in Mahindra would have done a complete case study and several data studies before venturing in. Since India being an emerging automobile market and Mahindra having a decent brand value, it would have led to favorable outlook for venturing into scooter segment even at high level discussion stage.

In a Country like ours, where the factors that influence the Macroeconomics are innumerable, it is impossible for even the best in the business to come out with a fool proof analysis for successful business expansion. The best bet is to do, maximum possible research and study and go with "Let's try it out" mindset. I'm sure almost every company in India does the same.

I'm sure, Mahindra, which is becoming more and more mature, would make this experience as a case study and will use it for future analysis when it does strategic analysis for its corporate.

Just to be on the goodwill of the existing customers, I would expect a press release from Mahindra that their products will be given adequate service support in their Motorbikes service centers.

[abhi29]

Seems like a drastic but a good move, isn't it wise to clear off a loss making line-up to make way for better and fresher models. Can't comment on the performance, but IMO the scooters looked dated and lacked appeal.

It starts to make even more sense when you consider the fact that Mahindra is planning to roll out 3 Peugeot scooters in different price brackets and power ranges including the Speedfight 3 which is an entry-level scooter. Now this also gives an impression that Peugeot brand may not be placed as super-premium à la Vespa but will contain a mixed bag of offerings at various price points.

In no way the out-going models would have complimented the Peugeot line-up, how Gusto fits into the picture will have to be seen.

[anjan_c2007]

Mahindra has ventured into an unknown territory, hoping for good returns in the future.It bought Kinetic Engineering's facilities alongwith its Taiwanese bikes and scooter - technology that they were manufacturing.

When we have reputed Japanese brands in the market, no well informed buyer will venture for such two wheelers manufactured by Mahindra.

Their sales come from buyers who have faith in brand Mahindra, but these two wheelers are no 4 X 4 or even 2 X 2. They are single wheel driven. They are plasticky and are no tough workhorses like the Mahindra four wheelers.

My apologies to some who may have been hurt and who are loyal to Mahindra two wheelers.

The point is Mahindra is still unsure as to how to go about in this uncharted territory.

The counterpoint is that all the Japanese majors whose models can be adapted in India are already in the market since about three decades, either as a JV partner and now even on their own.

In this backdrop, Mahindra could have found no Japanese major to collaborate with them for two wheeler making.

Uncertainty looms large over Mahindra's two wheeler venture. It would have been better had they entered into a JV with some Western bike makers to concentrate on making 250 cc plus engined bikes to cater to a niche market.

Or else, they could have bought the full rights to make some recently outdated models from any reputed Japanese two wheeler maker.The Hero Pleasure is an outstanding example of dated technology being sold in a new pack.Hero bought all rights from Honda to make this model.

Or else, strengthen their own R & D and also outsource designing and mechanical technology for India specific models. The Bajaj Pulsar is an outstanding example here.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Or else, strengthen their own R & D and also outsource designing and mechanical technology for India specific models. The Bajaj Pulsar is an outstanding example here.

I would differ with you here. Bajaj had almost 3/4 decades of experience in two wheelers, before they ventured to even making a motorcycle. Their scooter experience came from licence copying Vespa and their motorcycle experience came from Kawasaki. It's only when they had a vast experience of using technology from their partners that they went ahead and made their first Pulsar.

Mahindra IMO did the right thing by kick starting their two wheeler division by an aquizition. This help them avoid the almost decade plus timeframe needed to develop their own offering. And th only significant two wheeler company they could aquire, the one which had a brand name, saleable products and technology was Kinetic, which was loss making for a while.

[gaurav_3000ad]

I think there is an interplay of three important factors which have to be kept in mind, especially when it comes to our indian market.

1. The average joe who is looking to purchase a two wheeler in the country places reliability, mileage and ease of ownership over other factors.

2. The indian market is a perception driven market where established players will always have an undue advantage over the new, niche and unestablished entities.

3. Buying any vehicle in india is a collective process with inputs coming in from a myriad of sources including the immediate family, peers from office and elders. So even a rational person who makes his decision solely on the competence of a product will find his views swayed.

These factors tilt the see saw heavily in the favour of companies who have been in the market for atleast 3-4 decades and who have established themselves in the minds of the average indian, read hero, bajaj, honda, yamaha, suzuki. And people will always prefer their products over relative non entities like mahindra. This is also the reason why established two wheeler companies abroad look to tie up with the existing manufacturers rather than foraying into the market on their own.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by gaurav_3000ad

I think there is an interplay of three important factors which have to be kept in mind, especially when it comes to our indian market.

1. The average joe who is looking to purchase a two wheeler in the country places reliability, mileage and ease of ownership over other factors.

2. The indian market is a perception driven market where established players will always have an undue advantage over the new, niche and unestablished entities.

3. Buying any vehicle in india is a collective process with inputs coming in from a myriad of sources including the immediate family, peers from office and elders. So even a rational person who makes his decision solely on the competence of a product will find his views swayed.

These factors tilt the see saw heavily in the favour of companies who have been in the market for atleast 3-4 decades and who have established themselves in the minds of the average indian, read hero, bajaj, honda, yamaha, suzuki. And people will always prefer their products over relative non entities like mahindra. This is also the reason why established two wheeler companies abroad look to tie up with the existing manufacturers rather than foraying into the market on their own.

+1 to all the above.

The success of a brand mostly guarantees the success of most of its products (even products with minor niggles manage to sail through, ex: XUV500). However matured an Indian's mindset may be, at the end of the day he/she likes to play safe and go out with the popular opinion. The person isn't ready to experiment when a lot of his/her hard earned money (let's say >20k INR) is at stake.
This is where new players (likes of M&M 2-wheelers, Benelli etc) and restructured/revamped players (likes of TaMo, Fiat, etc) fail to make a cut, even if they have more than decent product offerings up their sleeves. On the other hand, established brands and models remain the crowd favourite even if far superior products are available in the market. Their advantage is that they are tried and tested.

[KiloAlpha]

This looks like the first step in a long turn around process, methinks. However, this is a tough ask in an unforgiving Indian market. Reputations once set are very very hard to overcome, regardless of reality.

Mahindra bought out Kinetic at a time when it was already well on its way to obscurity. Unless the acquisition was dirt cheap, and Mahindra had a turn around plan in place immediately, it was a bad move, IMHO. If a new player wants to move into a market by buying out an incumbent, you buy out someone who is on the up-and-up and build on the momentum.

Next steps? Fresh branding as "Mahindra", dissociate the products from the old Kinetic brand. From this perspective, discontinuing old products is a good idea. The Duro (which was the Kinetic Nova), and Flyte, are strongly associated with the Kinetic brand.

EDIT: Until recently, I owned a Mahindra Flyte. It was a very nice scooter, but increasing niggles as it got older prompted the decision to sell.

[hellmet]

Unfortunately, I don't recollect hearing the names of any of these scooter/bike names, ever. I think I came across the "Duro" in the scooter thread but I didn't associate Mahindra with it. In fact, I didn't even bother.

If Mahindra has had an ad campaign, I don't recall it. Poor brand recall or a failed marketing campaign, IMO. The Activa-i and TVS Jupiter were all over TV and the city.

If they're discontinuing their bikes, and they're of good quality as others here have said, then it's a complete failure of the marketing team. Simple as that.

EDIT: I already see they removed these bikes from their website. I see Centuro and a couple of other scooters now.

[humyum]

Discontinuing 4 bikes at the same time will make sure no customers touch their bike again for the fear 'What if' the new one's they launch don't sell too and they plan to do the same with them.

They should have gone about slowly with this business if they wanted to stop these 4 models.