[Sommos]

As an Indian I would be really proud if this deal goes through for M&M.
The Washinton Post says that M&M is the front runner and they have already expressed their interest. But the price of US$800 million that Investment Dar wants for its stake, on the other hand, is where things start to go awry.

Investment Dar missed payment on an Islamic bond in May 2009 and, under Kuwait’s Financial Stability Law, in February 2011, it agreed to reorganize US$4.9 billion of debt.

Interestingly all of Aston Martin models, bar the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet city car, are based on the same, Ford-developed, VH platform, because the cost of developing a new one is prohibitive for such a small company. Being under the roof of a large manufacturer, gives you access to technologies and budgets that would, otherwise, one would not dare dream of. While Aston Martin still gets engines from Ford, it lost access to Ford’s other resources after the sale and remains the only global luxury brand that’s not part of a larger auto group.

[S@ndy]

Hmm..... Indian companies seem to expand their reach and acquire int'l companies! I'm feeling proud to read this news that India is coming in the eyes of International people. Tata owns JLR and Mahindra acquiring Aston! Is Indian automotive Industry keen to buy the British one? After this, would Aston build rugged vehicles and SUV's and Mahindra sports cars? Hmm, Indian sports cars by a mainstream manufacturer at a mouth-watering tag and a big engine is enough for us! Thank you!

OT: BTW who is the current owner of Aston Martin?

Keep revvin'
S@ndy

[scopriobharath]

- I am not amused by the move. Aston is a 2+Crore market car. JLR were having cars in the 50 lac range and can price well and maybe make a 35 lac car(XF).

We should ultimately see a stripped down Aston for 70 lacs. I hope that exclusivity remains even after Mahindra purchases Aston.

[vb-saan]

It’s good for these legendary brands (like Aston Martin) to have owners who have sound financial backing. By owning some of the renowned international brands, I hope some reverse benefits happen to these Indian giants’ home brands – in terms of quality and technology.

Originally Posted by S@ndy

OT: BTW who is the current owner of Aston Martin?

I believe the key ownership lies with a couple of Kuwaiti investment companies, and a small percentage still lies with Ford.

[amtak]

I wonder what our own Jeremy Clarkson has to say about this?

[vivriti]

Originally Posted by F150

What do they gain out of the acquisition ? Mahindra is mainly into trucks or SUVs and they are planning to acquire a luxury car brand. Is it diversification ?

Lamborghini was earlier known as a tractor company. Just research the history of companies like Toyota, Yamaha etc. Acquiring AstonMartin will give Mahindra's profile a big boost and benefit their existing business too.

[samyboy]

What I am really interested in is, what technology will you bring to India after buying such a company. Now with Jag in pocket hope somebody is checking on feasibility of bringing some of the technology in next gen of TATA cars. Otherwise owning top foreign car companies does not matter to Indian consumers like me. Nothing different is expected from M&M in case they really go ahead with the purchase.

[shortbread]

Originally Posted by samyboy

What I am really interested in is, what technology will you bring to India after buying such a company. Now with Jag in pocket hope somebody is checking on feasibility of bringing some of the technology in next gen of TATA cars. Otherwise owning top foreign car companies does not matter to Indian consumers like me. Nothing different is expected from M&M in case they really go ahead with the purchase.

As far as Tata and JLR are concerned, the next generation Land Rover Defender is going to be made in India on the T5 platform, one of the most accomplished SUV platforms in the world (presently used for the Range Rover Sport and the Land Rover Discovery).
You can read more about it here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...e-india-2.html

[samyboy]

Originally Posted by shortbread

As far as Tata and JLR are concerned, the next generation Land Rover Defender is going to be made in India on the T5 platform,

shortbread - I agree. But made in India and sold in India or exported? If exported will benefit the overseas customers. Let's think even if it's sold in India too - of course it will fall in premium category and will have smaller user base here.

My point was, if they harvest relevant technologies for Indian context and selectively apply it to better their already established brands it might be better for common folks like me.

I appreciate you pointing the link, it added to the information I had.

[Kwanza]

This is some really great news. Hope the deal sees light.

And I think this may not directly impact M&M's product portfolio, I think M&M might gain advantages like build quality, engineering expertise etc. It's just going to add more value to the Mahindra Group, and to Indian business as a whole, just like JLR did to Tata.

Obviously, if God-willingly this deal does happen, M&M isn't gonna damage AM's brand image, but India might have a collective gain in terms of things like setting up a production plant here maybe? Or even some research?

Slightly but, I still think at least with the Indian launch, Mahindra should have killed the "Ssangyong" brand and just left it as Mahindra Rexton. Well, they shouldn't do that with AM though! lol

Originally Posted by amtak

I wonder what our own Jeremy Clarkson has to say about this?

Haha! I second you on that

[swarnava.m]

Right!! Now this seems interesting..

I can just imagine the next James Bond movie.. Bond storms in driving a Mahindra & Mahindra vehicle..

[mxx]

As mentioned in other posts before, the article does not confirm that Mahindra is in the race for Aston Martin. Unlike the Tata group, which are very aggressive in foreign acquisitions(be it JLR, corus or likely Orient express), mahindra is very conservative on this front. They walked out of hummer deal-which would have been a perfect fit in their portfolio, and not to mention the value of the technologies they would had access to. Then they walked out of saab too.
My point is, mahindra may not be ready for such high value and prestigious brands.
At best they might acquire some relatively low profile company like sangyong .

[Warhound]

Originally Posted by samyboy

What I am really interested in is, what technology will you bring to India after buying such a company. Now with Jag in pocket hope somebody is checking on feasibility of bringing some of the technology in next gen of TATA cars. Otherwise owning top foreign car companies does not matter to Indian consumers like me. Nothing different is expected from M&M in case they really go ahead with the purchase.

Buying a international brand does not necessarily imply that technology acquired from such a transaction will immediately or in the distant future trickle down to the domestic market. There are many reasons for it, the primary being if your target market is ready for it (cost). After all after 4.5 years what did Aria get from JLR other than a few fancy knobs and what does TATA have under production which will showcase such engineering marvel and/or improve current reliability ? We are talking about sub 5 lakh cars (majority sold) and they will not benefit even 1% from a USD 100,000 Jaguar.

Secondly, Jaguar is running independently from TATA motors. The major reason TATA decided to invest was because if felt it could turn the companies fortunes around. Its solely a business decision where the parent company is reaping profits from one of its divisions nothing else. Its silly to expect large scale implementation of western tech in Indian shores in a extremely price sensitive market.

[Shreyans]

Originally Posted by mxx

As mentioned in other posts before, the article does not confirm that Mahindra is in the race for Aston Martin. Unlike the Tata group, which are very aggressive in foreign acquisitions(be it JLR, corus or likely Orient express), mahindra is very conservative on this front. They walked out of hummer deal-which would have been a perfect fit in their portfolio, and not to mention the value of the technologies they would had access to. Then they walked out of saab too.
My point is, mahindra may not be ready for such high value and prestigious brands.
At best they might acquire some relatively low profile company like sangyong .

Mahindra waljed out of the hummer deal because the deal did not include any fixed assets of yhe company. The H3 uses the chevy tahoe platform and that could not be sold along with the company. Yes i do agree that the hummer brand would have been perfect for mahindra.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by vivriti

Lamborghini was earlier known as a tractor company.

Aston Martin became a successful brand after its acquisition by David Brown Limited, the tractor manufacturer who then bought Lagonda to make it Aston Martin Lagonda.

The DB series, popularised by 007, is named after David Brown the founder/tractor manufacturer.

There was a time when Aston Martins were so shoddily built that popular joke was that they sometimes came out of the factory with the tractor engines instead. Which is probably why both brands were sold in the late 70s (?) for the princely sum of 100 pounds sterling.


In any case, the news is that M&M are 'interested', not that they've already bought it. Not yet time to celebrate, especially when giants like Toyota are also "interested".