Strong consumer behavior sensed by Scorpio

Introduction
The Scorpio story started in 1997 with a vision - a vision to continue the domination of the Utility vehicle (UV) market in India.

This vision also clarified that M&M would focus on the niche UV market and, hence, would not directly participate in the car market.
Its founders passionately believed that Indians are second to none.

They had a dream: to make M&M known worldwide for the quality, durability and reliability of its products and services and at the same time play an active role in the development of the nation.
The current management held this dream and vision as an integral part of their existence and that led them to set themselves a challenging goal of retaining their domestic market leadership with over 50 per cent market share of the Indian utility vehicle segment and create their name in the global market.

About The Company

Founded in 1945 as a steel trading company, we entered automotive manufacturing in 1947 to bring the iconic Willys Jeep onto Indian roads. Over the years, the company diversified into many new businesses in order to better meet the needs of our customers. M & M follow a unique business model of creating empowered companies that enjoy the best of entrepreneurial independence and Group-wide synergies.

This principle has led the companys growth into a US $15.4 billion multinational group with more than 144,000 employees in over 100 countries across the globe. Today, there operations span 18 key industries that form the foundation of every modern economy: aerospace, aftermarket, agribusiness, automotive, components, construction equipment, consulting services, defense, energy, farm equipment, finance and insurance, industrial equipment, information technology, leisure and hospitality, logistics, real estate, retail, and two wheelers.

Making of Mahindra Scorpio

The Mahindra Scorpio was launched in India in 2002 The company launched an upgraded Scorpio in April 2006. In June 2007, Mahindra launched a pick-up version in India known as the Scorpio gateway In November 2007, Mahindra launched a their new Scorpio Model, the MHawk .

On April 14, 2008, Mahindra revealed a concept of a diesel-electric hybrid version of their Scorpio SUV On September 21, 2008, Mahindra launched their latest Scorpio with a 6-speed automatic transmission gearbox Todays analysis every day 109 scorpio had been sold out every by mahindra and mahindra company.

Marketing Strategy by Scorpio

Baseline - Nothing Else Will do

The baseline captures the essence of the brand, which is superiority and uncompromising attitude. It also summarized the spirit behind the making of the Scorpio. Brand Strategy - Parent brand relationship defining A study of international brand names was done and a classification of brand names of midsize cars and SUVs was done into groups. International brand naming trends and strategies were analyzed. The name that emerged as most popular, and which was also the most liked name internally at Mahindra was SCORPIO.

Advertising and Promotions Strategy

The creative strategy was to drive home the Car Plus positioning forward. The tone and manner was to help associate the brand with the modern and urban lifestyle. Media Strategy

Dramatic and high impact launch High visibility Push brand image even by the media vehicle
Building impact through multiple-media PR, Mass Media, Direct Marketing, Event

Pricing Strategy: to be a premium brand yet having universal appeal

Scorpio was to compete with the midsize cars like Hyundai Accent, Ford Ikon, Opel Corsa, Maruti Suzuki Esteem on the one side and UVs like Toyota Qualis, Tata Safari and the Tata Sumo on the other. Scorpio adopted the penetrative pricing strategy positioned in the psychological price barrier of Rs. 5 -7 Lakhs. Phased Launch The Scorpio was launched in a phased manner - first in Metros Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai. Twenty cities were included over a period of 4 months and within a year 50 cities were covered. This ensured attention to main markets and to ensure that initial production of the vehicle could match demand. Dealerships were revamped prior to launch in a particular city.

Before launching Scorpio, M&M analysed the consumer segments (B&C category car buyers) to understand their :

Expectations, and
Perceptions. The key consumer insight was : consumers wanted to consume premium imagery.. at price affordable to them.

Results showed the following Psychology of Consumers :

Economic sense of consumers-Products combining:

Luxury, Performance Size, and Ruggedness.

Promotional Needs-Products that indicated their status and match their inner sense of achievement..

Status Actual Value Women Drivers Luxury International imagery of success

Conclusion
Mahindra Scorpio was launched in the market with a two fold motive from the company 1. To grab the market of consumers who wanted to have expensive SUVs but at economical rates i.e. maximum luxury with mediocre pricing. 2. To establish their reputation in the market as a sophisticated urban luxury car brand in addition to their rural rough and tough utility vehicle image. 3. Its insistence on global alliances for best quality but still sticking to the Indian roots and economic pricing strategy led to the product being such a success.