Mahindra sets new sales record in January

Mahindra has kickstarted its 18th birthday in South Africa in true style – shooting past the important 1 000-unit milestone in January.

According to the automotive industry business council (Naamsa), Mahindra hit a new alltime best sales figure of

1 010 units.

This is a massive 77% improvement over the same month in 2021 and comes despite severe stock shortages and other Covid-19-related disruptions.

According to Mahindra, the proudly South African Pik Up range remains the jewel in its crown with sales of 618 units in January.

This means that the Pik Up retains its position as one of the country's three fastest growing bakkie models.

In its range of SUVs, the KUV100 NXT and Scorpio both outperformed expectations.

The former found favour with budget-conscious buyers looking for a frugal and highly capable compact SUV; and the latter’s Adventure model proved popular among South African families.

'The new sales record is testament to the hard work of our team at Mahindra SA and each of our 72 dealers,' read the statement.

'The past two years have been tough, and we often faced delays in vehicle shipments from our global plants as well as other disruptions, such as the lootings in KZN where our plant is based.

'Despite this, our dealer network and team kept morale and momentum high and it has borne fruit.'

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Mahindra first entered the

South African market in 2004, committed to making the country its second home.

It has since invested steadily in its dealer health and customer service to make sure that its growth was matched by service and support capacity.

In the past four years, this growth accelerated with several large investments. This included an assembly facility in Durban, a new parts distribution warehouse in Gauteng, a larger and more modern training facility for technical and sales staff, and a specialised vehicle fitment centre.

At the same time, Mahindra supported its dealer network with a comprehensive modernisation programme. This has seen many dealers move to larger and more modern facilities and grow their floor space and staff complement.

The new sales record also creates a positive environment for what promises to be a very busy year for Mahindra.

This has already started with runaway sales of special edition models such as the Mahindra Pik Up Karoo Dusk and the new Pik Up S6 Double Cab Automatic.

Globally, the group has seen incredible success following the best-ever five-star GNCAP crash test rating of its XUV300, and the launch of next-generation products such as the new XUV700.

This model is scheduled for its South African debut in 2022 and will be followed by more models and vehicle upgrades.

Mahindra stated: 'We have a very ambitious target for the new year, and set very high standards for our customer service team and our dealers.

'Like before, we will make sure our customer service and dealer capacity grow in step with our sales, and we trust that this will continue to win us many more fans.'