Scorpio Case Study

CASE STUDY

THE MAKING OF SCORPIO

Rajesh Jejurikar

A group of young managers working in a cross-functional team seven years back had a critical objective. To evolve the new generation product for Mahindra. They needed to anticipate customer trends, emerging competition and determine the Mahindra response. The ability to have foresight is a key success factor in the automotive industry. The team came up with a concept of what they thought would win. This got presented to the MD - a dream with a price tag of Rs. 600 Crores. And the rest, as they say is history. The story started with a vision. A vision to continue the domination of the utility vehicle (UV) market in India. To be a global niche player. This vision also clarified that M&M would focus on the niche UV market and hence would not directly participate in the car market. The market was changing. From a controlled, supply driven market to a global, free for all one. From few brands to many. From little variety to large variety. New standards in quality, customer ser vice, luxur y, perfor mance and reliability. Clearly a 'More of the same" kind of approach was not going to succeed. The company needed to do "different things" rather than the "same thing differently" M&M needed to work to its strengths and competencies. To find ways of side stepping the MNC competition. We did not have the deep pockets that global majors did. The implication was that the project cost had to be optimised to a fraction of what world majors would spend. The other direction was to develop a product which would provide great value and hence very affordable.

To enhance Mahindra imagery as a true urban player

Scorpio Target Market :

Image Seekers: SEC A1 A2 Multiple vehicle owners, Professional, Young individuals in the age group of 25 - 45, Sophisticated outgoing lifestyle.

and Marketing' . . . Also, every phase from design to production, was governed by the 'Stage Gate' system where, unless the vehicle is certified at...