Mahindra is now South Africa’s fastest-growing car brand with a record 78% increase in sales in 2022 compared to the preceding year – more than five times the market average, said the Indian automaker.
In total, the brand sold 12,912 vehicles throughout 2022 comprising 4,027 units in the passenger and 8,885 units in the light-commercial vehicle segments, thereby hitting an average of 1,000 units per month and smashing through the fabled 10,000-unit-per-annum target for the first time.
This also earned its Pik Up range the honour of being the fastest-growing bakkie brand in the local market, an impressive feat considering the competitiveness of the segment.
“This is the second year since 2019 that Mahindra has been crowned South Africa’s fastest-growing brand and the fourth year in the past five that the brand has been among the country’s fastest-growing brands,” said Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra South Africa.
“Indeed, Mahindra recorded a compound annual growth rate of 23.6% over that period.”
Mahindra first entered the country in 2004 and it has since invested in a local assembly facility, a new technical training centre, a fitment centre for special-edition models, a larger and more advanced distribution warehouse, and a new head office.
A big year for Mahindra
Last year was a big one for Mahindra in the domestic market, the brand updating its best-selling crossover, launching an all-new flagship SUV, and introducing no fewer than three South African-exclusive special-edition bakkies.
In March, we had the XUV300 being revised with new standard equipment, seeing the crossover being ranked as “South Africa’s safest car” after it scored a 5-star rating at the Global NCAP safety tests, according to Mahindra.
Fast-forward to July, and the automaker introduced three permanent additions to its local product roster in the form of the Pik Up Karoo Dawn, Dusk, and Storm bakkies.
These double-cabs are based on the range-topping S11 Pik Up but are further endowed with model-specific paints and rugged off-roading equipment including bigger wheels and tyres, upgraded suspension, steel bumpers, sports bars, and overfenders.
All three variants are available at R624,999 and offer ever-so-slightly different specifications, allowing buyers to select the trim that suits them best without having to pay in.
Ending the year with a bang, Mahindra replaced its headlining SUV, the XUV500, with the all-new XUV700 which offers a noticeable upgrade in terms of luxury, features, refinement, and looks – while its starting price still managed to be kept below the half-million-rand mark.
In the first quarter of 2023, prospective customers can further look forward to the debut of the next-generation Scorpio-N SUV, the rugged brother to the XUV700 that sits on the same ladder-frame chassis as the Pik Up bakkies and is more catered to the great outdoors than the urban jungle.
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