Mahindra Verito in born-again bid
In April 2010 when the split between Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Renault became complete with the former buying the latter's 49% stake in Mahindra Renault Private Ltd, the joint-venture product Logan hit the bottom of monthly car sales chart, clocking just 303 units.
By the time M&M changed Logan's name to Verito in April 2011, the sales were averaging around 1,000 units, which grew month-by-month to 1,630 units in July. With sales of Verito, the born-again Logan, more than doubling, M&M is now gearing up for bigger game in the passenger car space.
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The company will launch Verito Refresh with added features in the upcoming festival season, and a smaller and cheaper version is likely to hit the market by the year-end or early next year.
M&M is sourcing engine and gearbox from Renault while its own R&D is working on design and styling changes.
The company is working to launch sub-four metre Verito, which will qualify for a lesser excise duty. The 22% excise duty will come down to 10% once M&M reduces its length to below 4 metre.
The sub-four metre Verito could be cheaper by at least ₹50,000-₹80,000 of its existing version which is priced at ₹4.7 lakh (petrol) and ₹5.7-7.0 lakh (diesel). Diesel variants account for 95% of Verito sales.