Govt capex, rural demand may spur M&M's ride: CEO

With the Indian government increasing its spending on infrastructure to record highs and rural demand picking up due to the good monsoon so far, sales of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) are expected to pick up pace in the coming months, Anish Shah, M&M Group's chief executive officer and managing director, said.

- DEV CHATTERJEE

"We are seeing early signs of recovery in the rural markets. We are seeing government spending and margins getting better. Our estimate for the full financial year for tractor sales is a 5 per cent increase for the entire financial year (2024-25/FY25) versus last year. With the monsoon reasonably good overall, we are on track to achieve 5 per cent growth," Shah said in an interview.

When asked about the government's nudge to private companies to invest in new capacities, Shah said the group has already raised its automobile (auto) division capacity by three times in the past four years and will add additional capacity this year as well. Between FY25 and 2026-27, the group will deploy ₹27,000 crore in its auto business, with ₹14,000 crore in internal combustion engine vehicles and ₹12,000 crore in the electric vehicle (EV) business. It will also invest ₹5,000 crore each in the farm and service businesses, thus taking the total to ₹37,000 crore.