Asia-Pacific Power List 2022: Harish Lalchandani, Mahindra & Mahindra

Harish Lalchandani

VP, marketing (passenger vehicles and pik-up)
Mahindra & Mahindra
India
New member  

It isn’t easy being the marketing head of the auto business of the eight-decade old Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), a business conglomerate in India whose interests stretch from defence equipment to technology services. The auto business has struggled for traction recently, losing share overall in the Indian market and especially in its mainstay SUV category. With people homebound in the pandemic and guarding their incomes, car sales dipped overall, and M&M felt the pinch.

To shift gears, M&M appointed Harish Lalchandani as its new head of marketing just a year ago. Since then, the former telco and healthcare marketer has helped the carmaker find new drive for its business. The Thar SUV launch he steered was a smash hit—some 70,000 units were sold in the first hour. To support this, M&M launched its ‘Explore the Impossible Campaign’ to highlight the rough-and-tough features of its new SUV.

Lalchandani also led the launch of the buzzy XUV 700 premium SUV, launching a burst of social media activity prior to its unveiling. On Twitter, for example, the firm’s #HelloXUV700 campaign delivered 47.7 million impressions and 14.6 million views. 

Then, Lalchandani, who was previously strategy head for the conglomerate’s agricultural equipment business, also steered the creation of a new brand identity for its SUVs. The all-new visual identity sought to portray M&M’s auto business as a maker of sophisticated SUVs.

As part of the brand’s digital push, Lalchandani is trying to keep the brand fresh by investing in NFTs. M&M was the second Indian auto car maker to unveil NFTs, with the launch of a set of tokens based on the Thar, the company's premium SUV. All proceeds from the NFT auction were donated to Project 'Nanhi Kali' to support the education of underprivileged girls in India, M&M said.