Just a few days after pulling the plug on the Duro and the Pantero, Mahindra has now discontinued two automatic scooters from its line-up, the Kine and Flyte. Considering their dismal sales performance, it was obvious that the Mumbai-based two-wheeler manufacturer would cease production of these models, though discontinuing four models in a span of less than a week seems like an unexpected and harsh move.
The Kine was one of the oldest scooters in Mahindra’s line-up and existed even before the brand came into existence. The tiny 72cc scooter was launched back in 2006, when the company was under Kinetic’s ownership. The Flyte on the other hand was one of the first new models launched by the company, after it was acquired by the Mahindra Group. Though it was a stylish and practical scooter, the lack of demand for 125cc scooters coupled with stiff competition from the Suzuki Swish and other smaller scooters meant that sales of the Flyte never really took off.
Sales of Mahindra’s two-wheeler division have been declining steadily since the past few months and while the Centuro sells in decent numbers, the rest of the line-up has failed to live up to expectations. It is high time that the company rethinks its strategy for India to ensure that the other products in the range do not meet the same fate as the Flyte and Kine.
