Indian vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra has planned to launch a new compact micro-mini truck in the 0.5 ton payload segment. A top official from the company informed the media about the development and said that it currently sells the Gio within this range.
The Gio truck has a gross weight of 1.1 ton and a payload of 0.5 ton. The vehicle was launched in the year 2009 and bridged the gap between three wheelers, commercial vehicles and mini trucks. The Gio has other competitors like the Maxximo and Tata Motor Ace in its current segment.
Mahindra was the first company to launch the 0.5-ton four wheeler for the Indian market, but then the competition increased with the introduction of Tata Motors’ Ace Zip entering the segment. Now that then number of players has increased, the company has found the need to design a new product for consumers.
Rajan Wadhera, the chief executive of technology product and development for Mahindra & Mahindra said, “We are working on a ground up product in the micro-mini space…The new product will compete in the Gio segment”. Wadhera refused to provide more details on the product, saying that since there is lot of competition in the segment it is essential to give a new product to its consumers.
