Polaris Industries Inc., announced its entry into the Indian market on 24th August 2011, through Polaris India Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary with a wide range of their products on offer bought in as completely built units from the USA.
As part of its strategy to sensitize consumers, Polaris India intends to travel to a number of cities in the country with their products in tow and let consumers sample some of their offerings. After Delhi and Ahmedabad experienced the slush, muck, the smell of gasoline and good quality riding gear, it was Chennai’s turn.
Polaris’ offerings in India include Polaris Sportsman® ATVs, Polaris RANGER RZR® Side by Side Off-Road Jeeps and Snowmobiles.
MPL Adventure Sports Vehicles Pvt. Ltd., will be Polaris’ dealer in Chennai. MPL is a big name in Chennai having established their credentials with their Ford, Mahindra dealerships. Riot Engine spoke to Mr.S.Ashok, the Director.
We were pleasantly surprised when we realized that this gentleman at the event doing the running around, interacting with prospective clients & members of the media, under the merciless Chennai sun was the Director himself. Ashok believes you do not normally get into this business without having the passion for automobiles.
Ashok introduced us to the ATV range starts from Rs. 2.85 Lakhs and goes all the way upto Rs. 12.5 Lakhs. The Side By Side jeeps start from 10L and go upto Rs. 20L. The off-road vehicles from Polaris are niche market products and Polaris is using targeted advertising methods to reach the clientele that would be willing to fork out the money for the leisure and luxury products from Polaris.
Ashok believes there has never been a better time for Polaris to expand into India, with the rising purchasing power of the Indian. Spares have been stocked, and service will usually be provided on-site with the help of a service van equipped for this purpose in addition to the small workshop that the dealer will have.
Krishnapatnam Port in Nellore already has some imported Polaris’ vehicles doing duty. Ashok says these vehicles can find application in the forests, in mining and construction operations, and in leisure activities like adventure sports.
Polaris branded riding gear will also be available at the dealers. The RANGER® is also available as a Diesel and an electric. A 30 HP/48V AC electric motor powers the EV. It plugs into a 110V AC outlet to charge, in the USA, we assume necessary changes will be made to plug it straight into 240V sockets.The EV retains Polaris’ On-Demand True AWD which maximizes traction.
Business Standard has also reported that Polaris India also has plans to introduce low speed electric vehicles in India. Pankaj Dubey, managing director of Polaris India, said, “We have a good line-up of passenger and goods carriers in GEM. We will soon start a market study to assess the potential for these vehicles in India.”
