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Class : Division C

Roll No:Subject: Marketing Management

Assignment No: 1

Topic: Marketing mix of Tractor Industry in India.

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PREFACE

The tractor industry in India has developed over the years to become one of the largest tractor

markets in the world. From just about 50,000 units in early eighties the size of the tractor market

in the country has grown up to over 200,000 units. Today the industry comprises of 14 players,

including 3 MNCs. The opportunities still are huge considering the low farm mechanization

levels in the country, when compared to other developed economies across the world. After a

downturn during last 3-4 years, the industry is back on a growth path, which i believe would

sustain in coming years as well. Key concern for the industry is its dependence on agricultural

income in hands of farmers and the state of monsoon.

Tractor Segments: 30 - 40 HP dominates with over 50 percent share. The tractor industry is

classified into three broad segments, based on the power delivered by the engine Horse Power

(HP).

INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

From a small beginning in the 1960s, when a few thousand tractors were produced, India is now

one of the largest producers of tractors in the world, along with the US. The Green Revolution of

the late 1960s and increasing recourse to scientific cultivation have resulted in a substantial

increase in the demand for tractors.

From a production of 2,000 tractors in FY1971, the volume sales of the industry reached

2,66,073 units in FY2000. The tractor industry’s growth has dropped to a low of 2-3% in 1998-

99, as well as in 1999-2000. Product losses and unremunerative prices in a few States, in the past

few seasons, have added to the downtrend, but the biggest adverse impact has been

overproduction and billing by some of the leading players.

COMPETITORS

Six main players - Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M), Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd

(TAFE), Escorts Ltd, Punjab Tractors Ltd (PTL), Eicher Ltd, and Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd

(HMT) - control most of the market, while a couple of players in the unorganized sector

specialize in used tractors.

Mahindra & Mahindra is the leader in the industry, with a market share of 27%. Three

multinationals, New Ford Holland, John Deere and Greaves, have entered the market in the past

two years, but their combined sales have been below 6,000 units. All Indian brands, except

Punjab Tractors Ltd, have had overseas tie-ups and support since the beginning.

Below is a representation of the market share of major tractor manufacturers in India.

MAHINDRA TRACTORS

Mahindra Tractors, the farm equipment division of Mahindra & Mahindra, builds and sources

tractors that are sold worldwide across six continents. Mahindra is also among the top three

tractor manufacturers in the world.. Mahindra has a huge consumer base in India, China and

America and a growing base in Australasia. The company builds more tractors in India than any

other manufacturer, and has the capacity to build 150,000 tractors a year. In 1963, M&M formed

a joint venture with International Harvester to manufacture tractors carrying the Mahindra

nameplate for the Indian market. Armed with engineering, tooling and manufacturing know-how

gained from this relationship, M&M developed its first tractor, the B-275.Mahindra compact

tractors and utility tractors are some of the toughest, most durable on the planet. Mahindra

Tractors with sales of nearly 85,000 units annually is one of the largest tractor companies in the

world, and is number one in sales in India - the largest tractor market in the world.

Manindra tractors has been the leading producer and manufacturer of tractors in India since a

long time.

What then is it that has enabled Mahindra to hold on to this position for so long?In this small

treatise of Mahindra Tractors I will try to profile the products,place,pricing,promotion strategies

that Mahindra tractors have been following successfully since a long time.The 4P’s as they are

popularly known as are perhaps the most important factors which determine the success of a

product and an organisationIt is of utmost importance that an organization is able to get a right

mix of these 4P’s for their success.

1.PRODUCT

In the domestic business, the Farm Equipment Sector has had an unparalleled market leadership

for the last 24 years. It is the largest producer of tractors in India. Today, the domestic market

share of FES is around 42%. (Mahindra brand: 30% and Swaraj brand: 12%). The Mahindra

group's Farm Equipment Sector (FES) is amongst the top three tractor brands in the world. It has

won the Japan Quality Medal in 2007.

The table below gives us the various product ranges of Mahindra Tractor division.

It includes range of tractors as regards horsepower and their market names.

Farm Equipment Segment

Tractor Below 30 HP Yuvraj

265 DI Sarpanch

265 DI Bhoomiputra

Tractors Between 30-40 HP

Arjun 445 DI

275 DI TU Sarpanch

275 DI TU Bhoomiputra

475 DI - Sarpanch

475 DI – Bhoomiputra

Tractors Above 40 HP Arjun 555 DI

2Arjun 605 DI

575 DI - Sarpanch

575 DI Bhoomiputra

585 DI – Sarpanch

Farm Implements Rigid Tine Cultivator

Mounted Offset Disk Harrow

Spring Loaded Tiller

Mounted Disc Plough

Leveller

Mounted Mould

Board Plough

Heavy Duty Tiller

Reversible Plough

Mahindra Tractors has always been known for its quality.As a company it enjoys areputation for sturdy

products with very less complaints of breakdowns.The major reason behind this being that it was one of

the very first companies to recognize that in the agricultural segment it was very essential to maintain

the quality of the product.As aresult og=f this Mahindra invest a lot in ensuring supreme quality of their

product.

Some of the measures taken by Mahindra to ensure good quality continuous improvement and

customer satisfaction with regards to the above are:

QUALITY CIRCLES

Quality Circles give every employee, responsibility for quality. The philosophy behind this is the

view that each person is having unutilised potentials which can manifest through education and

study.Improvement of the individual will enables company to improve its employees as assets, to

be developed.

The Quality Circles give an opportunity to the employees to get involved with the company

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Many fitness for use problems can be traced to the design of the product and the design of the

process.Since product development itself is a process, this process needs to be designed and

controlled well for good results. The ISO 9001 quality system standards gives a good guidance

for designing the quality system applicable to product development.

Since the advent of liberalization and globalization, multi-nationals manufacturing tractors have

been entering the market, to be able to compete with them it is imperative to have such a

department.

SUPPLIER UPGRADATION

Since more than eighty per cent of the parts used for assembling the tractor are outsourced, the

outgoing quality of the tractor very largely depends upon the quality of the parts received from

the suppliers.Hence,there is a strong need for upgrading the suppliers.To upgrade too many

suppliers entails lot of effort and resources. To optimize the use of resources, the suppliers are

selected for upgrading based on criteria developed, keeping the future needs in view.

Progressively, the number of suppliers are being reduced, to enable the existing supplier to take

advantage of economy of scale and be able to invest in better technology and employ good

quality systems.Under the scheme of supplier upgradation long term relationship with suppliers

are established for mutual benefits. The suppliers are given technical assistance, to upgrade

themselves.

QUALITY IN MANUFACTURING

Manufacturing has become one of the important marketing tools in the division.

Quality, length of lead times for delivery, flexibility in manufacturing, improvement of current

products and new product development are all controlled by the factory.

2.PRICE

Pricing of a product such as tractors or farm equipment in a country like ours has to be given

utmost importance.The pricing must be such that consumers can afford the product as well there

should be facilities like loan available to the consumer.Mahindra maintains a price that will not

only enable and encourage consumers to buy their products but also has tie ups with various

banks in order to provide loans to the customers.The customers who are generally farmers

benefit a lot from such a policy.Mahindra has always ensured that consumers get the best quality

possible at lowest prices.They do not believe in increasing prices rapidly when it comes to the

farm equipment sector.the above is in keeping with the fact that the segment that the farm

equipment covers is the rural market were consumers are highly motivated and influenced by a

price policy which is not fluctuating and fits their pocket.The advantage that Mahindra enjoys as

a brand name due to its heritage ensures that consumers do not have any problem in obtaining

loans.Besides Mahindra’s effective dealer network is always there to help at every step.

The list below contains Mahindra tractor models with their prices

3.PLACE

The Indian tractor market is the largest in the world accounting for one third of the worlds

production.The tractor industry has been rapidly growing over the last few decades.It is expected

that the tractor industry will sustain its level of growth and even surpass it in the years to

come.Hence as a marketplace India holds tremendous potential and Mahindra tractors has been

consistently tapping the potential of rural India and has emerged as the leader in tractor market

since the last 14 years. The Mahindra Group’s Farm Equipment Sector is the largest producer of

agricultural tractors in India. It has enjoyed an unparalleled market leadership in the domestic

market for the last 23 years. With a 30% market share, the Bhoomiputra, Sarpanch and Arjun

brands of tractors make the Group’s Farm Equipment Sector present in all the major

segments in India. Mahindra & Mahindra recently consolidated it position as the leader of

the Indian tractor industry when it acquired 43% stake in Punjab Tractors, the owner of

the leading Swaraj brand of tractors.

It has a large customer base of 12, 00,000 satisfied customers and the deepest distribution

reach. The Sector has four manufacturing facilities in India, located in Mumbai and

Nagpur in Maharashtra, Rudrapur in Uttaranchal and Jaipur in Rajasthan.

One of the major reasons why Mahindra has been able to do so is because of its efficient sales

and distribution channel and a very effective and widespread dealer network.Mahindra has a

dealer network of around 400 at last count and is present in almost every nook and corner with

special focus on the northern part of India which forms the major customer base.

4.PROMOTION

The major market for tractors is rural india.Mahindra has excelled when it comes to promoting

its products.Mahindra has promoted its products by a number of tried and tested and innovative

methods as well.Apart from the tried and tested methods of television promos Mahindra has tried

and excelled in several other realms of promotion and advertising.Listed below are some of the

various recognitions Mahindra has won for its exceptional promotional activities.

The innovative Mahindra Toofan Carnival campaign for the Sarpanch 595DI Super Turbo was

awarded two Golds at the Rural Marketing Agencies Association of India (RMAAI) Awards

2006.

The Awards were won in the categories of Best Innovative Rural Marketing Initiative .

The Toofan Carnival promotional campaign launched in F04 was designed to launch the 595DI

Super Turbo – India’s first Turbo Tractor and brought to vivid life the brand promise of ‘Ho

Jaao Toofan Pe Savar.’ Campaign objectives were to build excitement around the brand launch,

depict power and provide an innovative ‘touch and try’ experience for the rural consumer.

The campaign saw RC&M, the communications partner on the campaign, dramatically launch

the product by breaking a pre-fabricated brick wall to establish the promise of Power. The

campaign was conducted across 1000 villages in 100 districts and contacted over 3 lakh farmers.

RMAAI is an association of organisations that protects and promotes the cause of rural

marketing in India. The entries for the awards were judged by Rama Bijapurkar, Sunil Alagh

and Harish Bijoor. The award is an industry acknowledgement for innovation in communication

and execution excellence.

Bagging the 2nd Prize for ‘Best Display’ of tractors at the recently concluded AGRO TECH –

2006, organised by CII in Chandigarh, FES has completed a hat-trick of AGRO-TECH Awards.

At this Biennial Agro Technology fair, FES had received the 1st Prize of ‘Best Display’ in 2002,

2004.

FES used this exhibition as a platform to showcase the new MAHINDRA SHAAN – India’s

first multi-utility tractor. There was a tremendous response from the visiting farmers who had

shown keen interest in the amazing tractor which could take different workloads of haulage and

farming.

The ultra modern ‘ARJUN Ultra-1 CE with Front End Loader FEL 60 attachment featuring

‘Ton Plus’ technology was also showcased towards increasing work productivity across varied

construction usages. Also on display were the `235 DI Bhoomiputra’ with Airflow Technology

which has made a mark in the

Single Cylinder Tractor segment

and the ‘WORLD TRACTOR’, a

7520 4-wheel drive model which

has been already launched in the

U.S.A. and is a big success. FES’

small tractor i.e. the Yuvraj 225

Compact Powerful Tractor which

is assembled at our MCTCL China

Plant and is very suitable for

orchards and for farmers with less

than five acre land holdings also

attracted attention at the stall.

This splendid display of tractors

made the M&M stall the talk of the

exhibition. Visiting farners were

very excited to see these five new tractors and over 1500 enquiries were generated. These are

under scrutiny and further follow-up by the respective area offices for conversion into actual

Mr. Gautam Nagwekar, Chief Operating Officer, Farm

Equipment Sector, M&M, at the Mahindra stall.

orders. Friendly hostesses distributed pocket calenders, plastic carry bags, leaflets, etc. while

collecting the customers’ data. There was also a quiz contest and a lucky draw every hour for

farmers. The valedictory session of this mega exhibition was held on December 12, 2006.

Mrs. Asha Sharma, Financial Commissioner

& Principal Secretary – Agriculture, Govt.

of Haryana and the Guest of Honour

presented a Silver Salver and the Certificate

for the 2nd prize for ‘Best Display’ to Mr.

Ravi Kant, Sr. Manager - Advertising &

Promotions M&M, FES. Under the

leadership of Mr. Sanjeev Goyle, VP –

PMMS, Ravi had put in a lot of effort

towards ensuring such a splendid display at the M&M stall.

It is clearly evident from the above examples of Mahindras recognition at various renowned

promotion activities that they lay a lot of stress on marketing promotion.In an industry like this

it is very essential to be able to take your products to the consumers which Mahindra has clearly

been doing by displays at various stalls and expos.Mahindra also conducts various social

initiatives wherein it gets the necessary platform for showcasing its products to the rural

consumers

Innovation has always been one of Mahindra’s greatest fortes.They have also been trying new

promotional techniques.One of them being declaration of freedom week for farmers in

2007.This freedom week gave a great impetus to sales and helped in arousing awareness for

their products as well.Besides it also served as a good CSR activity.

The freedom week consisted of:

A week-long program that presents new expressions of freedom for the Indian Farmer  * Freedom from interest -  

The certificate won by the FES Stall at Agrotech.

- on loans, with 0% interest scheme  - service cost on tractors, with labor-free service  - traditional ways of farming, through exchange scheme  - traveling distances to get his own and his tractor’s health checked, with the unique Swasth Tractor, Swasth Chalak scheme; and  * A special offer for soldiers from Indian Armed Forces under the Mahindra Jai Jawan se Jai Kisan scheme  

 Mumbai, August 13, 2007: Celebrating the spirit of freedom, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, the

No. 1 tractor manufacturer in the country, today flagged off the Mahindra Swatantrata Mahotsav

- a week-long program that presents the farmer with a host of benefits, such as 0% interest

scheme on loans, exchange of old tractors, labour free service and health check-up camps for

farmers. The benefits will be offered between 13th and 19th August, 2007 at Mahindra Tractor

dealerships across the country.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Avinash Patankar, Sr Vice President Sales and Channel

Development, Farm Equipment Sector, M&M said, “Swatantrata Mahotsav’ acknowledges and

celebrates the importance of the Indian farmer and agriculture in shaping the future of the Indian

economy. Over the past six decades, Mahindra has been able to build a huge customer base of

over 12 lakh customers by focusing on customer-centric initiatives and designing its products,

services and offerings, in consonance with the farmer’s needs. Swatantrata Mahotsav is another

customer-centric initiative that will bring smiles on the faces of the farmers. We firmly believe

that an independent farmer is the true identity of Indian Independence.”

This is part of Mahindra Tractors innovative and customer centric approach, which has enabled

it to sustain its leadership position for more than two decades.

 

On the 60th anniversary of the country’s independence, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited extends

its unique ‘Jai Jawaan se Jai Kisaan’ rehabilitation scheme for the brave soldiers of the country.

Under this scheme, Mahindra tractors will be made available at attractive prices across Mahindra

Tractor dealerships to soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces.

SUMMARY 

 

Mahindra has been India’s leading tractor manufacturer since almost a quarter of a century

now.It has today achieved recognition the world over for superior quality of its products and

unparalleled customer service and dealership network.With the innovation and efforts Mahindra

continues to infuse at its tractor division there is no doubt that it is far ahead of its competition

and will continue to remain the most preferred tractor brand.As was once very rightly said by a

senior executive at Mahindra “We were the first to enter the tractor market and till today we are

No.1”