Jeeto, the new small commercial vehicle rolls out

Mahindra & Mahindra on Tuesday rolled out Jeeto, its much awaited small commercial vehicle, developed on a brand new platform, at its Zaheerabad plant, about 100 km from Hyderabad.

It is a “significant launch for us,” Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, declared, unveiling eight variants of Jeeto, priced (ex-showroom Telangana) from Rs.2.32 lakh to Rs.2.77 lakh. Both BS-III and BS-IV models are available, with the later costlier by about Rs.15,000 more.

Powered by m_dura, a direct injection diesel engine, Jeeto is positioned to meet needs of the sub-1 tonne load segment customers. The payloads can range from couriers, fresh produce, LPG cylinders to water cans.

The unveiling came two months after Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao formally inaugurated the extended facility of the plant. Stating that Telangana government had made it possible, Mr. Goenka said the firm has invested Rs.300 crore on the facility and Rs.250 crore on the neighbouring tractor manufacturing plant.

Passenger variant

Passenger variants of Jeeto are planned. They are likely to take one year and entail an investment of around Rs.50 crore. Elaborating on Jeeto, he said it was after five years Mahindra was coming out with a commercial vehicle on a new platform.

Fuelling the confidence would be the “cautious optimism” on the future, which senior executives of the company attributed to signs of economic revival, easing of interest rates, setting of monsoon on time and improvement in the investment climate.

The executives, while refusing to share numbers related to Jeeto sales target, said the SCV segment is expected to grow 5-7 per cent. Exports of Jeeto, beginning with Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, will begin simultaneously.