Last year, the Mahindra Group sold 18 percent less in the utility passenger vehicles segment where it actually has been a market leader. Of course, while the general auto market was also down overall, a couple of companies have done well in the compact SUV segment. And it does worry Dr Goenka.

"But we are also working on compact SUVs. We will have two compact SUVs that will be launched in 2015 calendar year. And it is not that we were unprepared for it. Just that the changeover happened about a year too soon. And there is nowhere you can speed up product development. So we will have a little bit of a dip for the time being."

Having said that, he believes that the traditional segment of SUVs where the Scorpio, the XUV, the Bolero are, Mahindra still remains at the same level of market share. "It is just the new segment (compact SUV) where we do not have good presence. So they are actually two different segments. And once you look at compact SUV as one segment and full size SUV as another segment, we have not lost market share. Yes, the segment has become smaller."

While the Group has tried its hand with the car segment as well, it will not be focussing on it for a while. "Our focus is now on the compact SUV segment because we are the UV player. We are ‘the UV brand' in India and we need to ensure that we remain at top of the UV segment.

And is he happy with the way the SsangYong brand has been accepted in India? "While the initial response was very good, it has slowed down a little bit and I am not quite happy with it. The product itself is very good but not selling enough. It is a new brand and launching a new brand takes a lot of effort. Moreover, we have only one product and that does not help. So we have to see if we can justify launching some more products and then put more weight behind the brand and then take it up."

The Group is also looking at acquiring a marquee brand which will make it more global. The name doing the rounds is obviously Saab. The aspiration is to move up on the brand scale. "Yes, we would like to have a marquee brand in our group, but we are in no hurry. We are looking at the right opportunity; importantly, it has to make business sense. Of course, we have to look beyond what others may see. If we are convinced that the brand that may be, let's say sort of, on the backburner, but if we see that we can revive the brand by doing something over a certain period of time then we could get into it. But we clearly have to see a business plan that will make financial sense for us to acquire it."