Mahindra
Two Wheelers Europe, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M
Ltd), will be acquiring all outstanding shares in Peugeot Motocycles (PMTC),
taking its share to a complete 100pc. Peugeot Motocycles, a manufacturer of
motorcycles and scooters, is headquartered in Mandeure, France.
It
may be recalled that in January 2015, Mahindra Two Wheelers Europe had acquired
a 51% equity stake in PMTC from PSA with the aim of growing the business. Since
then, Mahindra Two Wheelers Europe and the PMTC team have worked together on
reorganising and building the ’Performance 2020’ plan, which was unveiled in
July 2018. It lays the foundations to strengthen the company’s operations to
achieve future growth in core markets such as the G7 (Europe), while expanding
into new geographies, including select Asian markets.
The
company will be launching seven new products between 2019 and 2021. The brand’s
presence in Europe will be fortified, with France remaining a major market and
PMTC’s headquarters still based in its historical location, Mandeure.
Rajesh
Jejurikar, President FES & Two Wheelers’, and Member of the Group Executive
Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said: “We are seeing positive momentum at
Peugeot Motocycles. Kisbee becoming
the largest selling 50cc vehicle in Europe, Peugeot Metropolis getting stronger in Europe and China, the
positive market response to the new launch of the Urban GT connected Pulsion, are all cases in point. We
fully support PMTC’s ‘Performance 2020’ and look forward to the future with
enhanced optimism.”
According
to Jean-Philippe Imparato, Executive VP Peugeot Brand, “This decision by the
shareholders will ensure that Peugeot Motocycles benefits from the expertise of
a significant global player in the two wheelers industry. We at Peugeot will
maintain our commitment through our utilization of the Peugeot brand and extend
our support to design and technological innovations.”
The
Peugeot brand will continue to be used in the future under the Trade License
Agreement between PMTC and Peugeot. In addition, the Peugeot design teams will
continue to assist in the design and development of PMTC products in close
cooperation with PMTC management and the Mahindra Group. For instance, the
Peugeot 308 i-Cockpit technology was introduced recently with the launch of the
Peugeot Pulsion in its two-wheeler version i-Connect.