Acknowledging the mass adoption, the management said it got excellent feedback from customers, with South India emerging as a key market for the BE lineup.Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) continued to see robust demand in its SUV segment during the second quarter of FY26, even as its inventories have fallen below normal levels–currently around 15 days compared with the usual 25–30 days.
The company attributed the shortage to logistics challenges and GST transition issues.
“Actual dispatches for most of our products started after September 22, and trailer availability has caused some backlog. This is why SUV inventories are low, but otherwise stocks are in line with our norms,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, ED & CEO, Automotive & Farm Sector, M&M, said at the company’s Q2 post-earnings call.
For the quarter ended September 30, the company highlighted healthy margins for SUVs despite a higher share of EVs and festival-led discounts. Standalone SUV margins stood at 10.3 per cent.
The company achieved a 25.7 per cent revenue market share in the SUV segment, up 390 basis points from last year, led by strong demand for models like the Scorpio-N, XUV700 and Thar.
The carmaker expects mid-to-high teens growth in SUVs for the ongoing fiscal year. “Post-festive demand continues to be robust. Cash flow in rural markets is supporting sustained tractor and vehicle purchases,” Shah added, noting that GST-led pricing benefits and product upgrades are further supporting demand.
With respect to the unfolding Nexperia semiconductor crisis, the M&M top management hinted that the company is well-covered on the chip front and does not anticipate any impact on production in the near future.
Betting on LCV segment recovery
The company also expects a rebound in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment after a subdued start to the year. In the segment, the company ended the quarter with a 53.2 per cent market share, with 70,000 units sold, up 13 per cent YoY.
Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra Group, said the company now anticipates low double-digit growth in LCV volumes after a relatively flat first quarter. “We started the year assuming robust double-digit LCV growth. While the first quarter did not quite play out that way, the momentum now suggests we will likely end in low double digits,” Shah said during the Q2 post-earnings call.
Robust EV sales performance
The carmaker’s electric push gained momentum during the quarter, with more than 30,000 units sold of its Born Electric lineup–the BE6 and XEV9, to date. Electric SUVs account for 8.7 per cent of the company’s portfolio. The company expects its current EV market share of 25 per cent to improve further with a new product launch in the coming quarter. Acknowledging the mass adoption, the management said it got excellent feedback from customers, with South India emerging as a key market for the BE lineup.
Addressing supply-chain challenges, Jejurikar said Mahindra remains well-insulated from the ongoing rare-earth material crunch for this fiscal year. The company also noted that its BEV portfolio has not yet become a significant profit driver. The EBITDA for its EV business was reported at ₹202 crore for the quarter.
