ok dear gents, here's the lowdown
Desi Humvee avatar is here-Q&A-News-Indiatimes Wheels Desi Humvee avatar is here
Nandini Sen Gupta
[ TNN ]WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2007 05:21:50 PM
M&M Axe, custom-made for the Indian army is the local answer to the iconic Hummer It’s mean. It’s muscular. And it’s capable of navigating just about any terrain. No, we aren’t talking the Transformers here. We are talking the new Axe from Mahindra defence systems, the all-terrain vehicle custom-created for the Indian Army.
In a chat with us, Brigadier Khutub A Hai, CEO, Mahindra defence systems, spoke about the Axe; why it’s better than a Humvee, and more.
Is the Axe a brand new platform? Has it been developed completely in-house?
The Axe was designed with help from an overseas designer. It’s an extreme terrain vehicle. It’s an absolutely new platform and it has been developed totally indigenously. It’s a light specialist vehicle developed for the Indian Army.
Is it only a soft top vehicle?
It’s basically soft top though we do have a hard top version too. It is custom built for the Indian Army.
Do you have the Axe in both petrol and diesel powertrains?
There are two versions.
The petrol version uses a more than 4 litre GM Votec engine (which powers the Chevy Blazer) while the diesel uses a 2.7 litre Ssangyong diesel (which powers the Rexton). It’s an all-wheel independent suspension vehicle. The transmission system is a Mercedes Benz one. We have used top-of-the-line aggregates. Its USP is its suspension system which gives it extreme mobility. We have developed the petrol version for the special forces of a foreign country while the diesel one is for the Indian Army. The Axe is not cheap but it is competitively priced vis-a-vis the Humvee or Flier.
Have you forged sourcing arrangements with GM and Ssangyong? Will you replace the imported diesel engine with a Mahindra engine at some stage? Will this vehicle be launched in a civillian avatar as well?
We have an agreement with Ssangyong for the diesel engine. As for the GM engine, we will get that when we commercially produce the vehicle.
The vehicle will come in a civillian version as well.
We hope to have it on the road by 2009 with an automatic transmission. We will be strapping on a Mahindra diesel engine on it at some stage.
We will homologate the Axe for the civillian market and before that we will enter the military version in the Dakar Rally in 2009.
So we will be able to buy a civillian version of this vehicle soon? Will it look different?
The civillian version will be homologated with styling and other changes. But it will use a Mahindra driveline. The basic characteristic of performance will be the same but the looks will be different like the Humvee and Hummer. The engine displacement will be lower and there will be cosmetic changes on the dash. But the suspension and platform will be unchanged.
It will be only diesel and with automatic transmission. We will showcase it at the Auto Expo.
What kind of mileage does the Axe offer in its military avatar?
The diesel offers around 8-9 km per litre while the petrol offers 6/7 km per litre. It is a lifestyle product with extreme roading capability. The Axe has a payload of 120 kg with a 3500 GVW.
Will you export the Axe?
Yes absolutely. We will market it in Malaysia next year in its diesel version. We are looking at it globally. The first step is Malaysia, countries in Africa, Gulf, UAE and Jordan. The next stage is US debut in 2009. In all likelihood we will tie up with a global partner.
Are you investing in a new facility for defence vehicles?
Mahindra Defence Systems is setting up a factory in Faridabad with a focussed facility to make military vehicles ground up. We are investing around Rs 50 crore in it. It will be a first of its kind facility. We will do all vehicle armouring, up-armoured vehicles and the Axe at the new plant. It will have modern proto-shops, manufacturing capability and a test
track. It should be up and running by March 2008.
Is the plant part of a new strategy for Mahindra Defence?
We want to make a range of vehicles based on military platforms in-stead of using Mahindra platforms as before. We will use existing Mahindra platforms for existing products and use Axe for new products. The Axe versions will include high mobility vehicles and light armoured vehicles. We want to make the Axe the standard vehicle which will replace the
frontline jeeps.
Did AM General contact you for licenced production of the Humvee?
Yes they did. But it’s good that we didn’t go with a foreign company for licenced production. Our new product ties in with M&M’s global aspirations. We spent a modest $10 million on the Axe and we want to make a global product that we can sell in all markets.