LCV CARGO CARRIER OF THE YEAR
Nominees: BharatBenz 1917R, MAHINDRA FURIO 7 (FOUR-TYRE CARGO), MAHINDRA FURIO 7 TIPPER, MAHINDRA FURIO 7 HD Cargo, SML ISUZU PRESTIGE GS 3335 DUAL CABIN 10ft, TATA 407g SFC CNG, TATA T.6 Ultra, EICHER PRO 2049 CNG
Coming out of steep degrowth in the pandemic marred fiscal, Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) continue to evolve. Driven by demand generation from segments like e-retail, this segment is seeing a fast shift towards alternative fuels like CNG. As per All India Vehicle Retail Data from FADA for FY22, the segment registered a YoY growth of 31.23 per cent en route to bridging the (-) 26.81 per cent gap from FY20 levels. A reason to believe it is that the vehicles in this category continue to be moulded to meet customer requirements. One product stood out as the manufacturer filled an industry white space while establishing its presence in the six- to 7.5-tonne segment with a modular platform suited to diverse duty cycles. From a four-tyre cargo to tipper to a Heavy Duty (HD) cargo variant, the jury was compelled to look at the Mahindra Furio 7 as a complete range and not a product in isolation before adjudging it the winner. Jalaj Gupta - Business Head, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, M&M Ltd. shared that the company was convinced of the double guarantee and customer value proposition including the mileage and the buyback guarantee on the Furio range being a testimony of its deep-rooted understanding of the LCV customer.