Rexton's Brand Not to be Hit by Mahindra Tagline

Chennai: The tag line SsangYong Rexton by Mahindra will not bring down the global brand equity of the Korean auto company SsangYong Motors, said a senior official of Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M).

M&M will also come out with its sub-four metre Verito passenger car model by the end of this year.

As a part of multi-city rollout of its new high-end sports utility vehicle (SUV) Rexton from SsangYong Motor's stable, M&M launched Rexton.

M&M had acquired SsangYong Motors a couple of years back. Rexton is the first product to be launched in India.

"With M&M known for offering value for money vehicles, the tag line SsangYong Rextan by Mahindra will not dilute the brand equity of Rexton," said Vivek Nayer, chief marketing officer, automotive division at M&M.

"The issue was deliberated in detail and we found that there will not be any negative impact on the Korean brand," he said.

He said M&M decided to have SsangYong's name to show Rexton's parentage while the words "by Mahindra" would provide comfort levels to buyers.

To a query on the response for Rexton in terms of booking numbers, Nayer said it was too early to say as the model was launched only during the second half of last month in Mumbai and New Delhi.

He said the high-end SUV market offers good opportunities for auto companies and the major players in this segment are Toyota Kirloskar and Ford India, apart from M&M with its new model.

Nayer said the company has invested around 68 crore at its Pune plant to roll out Rexton and the annual capacity is 5,000 units.