[dZired]

Mahindra & Mahindra is reportedly planning to make its American debut through the launch of a new off-roader. The Indian automaker is aiming to start its American operations by 2019.

The new off-roader for the American markets is being developed by the Mahindra North American Technical Centre (MNATC), which is the group's dedicated R&D centre in Detroit, US. Reports suggest that this particular research centre is currently working on two new products - one for the Indian market and the other dedicatedly designed for the US customers. The off-roader is expected to be launched in America under the Mahindra badge, sometime in the year 2019.

Additionally, SsangYong, in which Mahindra owns a majority stake, is also expected to make its US debut in the next 18 months. Details about which products from the Korean automaker will be launched in America haven't been revealed yet.

Interestingly, this isn't the first time that Mahindra is planning to enter the American automotive market. In 2004, the automaker had decided to sell its pickups and a truck in the US (related thread). However, the company wasn't able to go forward with its plans, despite getting an approval from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Source: ET Auto

[Mad Max]

They're gonna get sued their pants off if their products even remotely resemble the Jeep brand. That said, I guess it will be interesting to see if they join hands through SS with Jeep and form an alliance. That could have a wider reach with a multi-country network for parts and support.

[D33-PAC]

I'm going to be brutally honest, but Americans are very ignorant people. They look down upon anything that's not West European, and an Indian consumer product won't get far there .

HCL made a factory in Silicon Valley a long time ago and they even launched a computer, nobody wanted to buy it because it was Indian.

I appreciate the ambition of the Indian empire builders who want to seize foreign markets as Indian captains and buccaneers, but many such venture sponsors have been humbled before.

Americans are the type of people to talk bullsh!t about Chinese product quality while they consume iPhones iPads and XBoxs and Wal-Mart's Chinese made products by the millisecond.

[GTO]

Mahindra should do what they were planning to earlier - target a niche segment. Remember how they were planning to launch cheap pickup trucks for the farming industry last time around?

There is no way Mahindra or SsangYong can compete in the volume segments in the USA. The market is too brutal and you need a lot of muscle to compete. On the global rankings, Mahindra is a small manufacturer and car companies far bigger than it have failed to crack the American market.

Mahindra seems to be biting off more than it can chew (foray into two-wheelers & big trucks have both been failures).

[SmartCat]

Quoting from the website
www.mahindranatc.com

Utilizing our full design-to-development facility, our team is empowered to take a holistic approach to platform, system and component engineering to ensure Mahindra vehicles are continually improving and getting to market faster.

Probably means this is going to be an all-new platform (rather than just borrowing one from Ssangyong). Now that is lot of investment for an uncertain American foray.

But the ET Auto article says there will be one model for Indian market too - probably with a different top hat and some safety beams removed. And if this platform is used for next-gen Ssangyongs, Scoprio, TUV300 or Thar, then the investment makes more sense.

Just speculating though.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

I'm going to be brutally honest, but Americans are very ignorant people. They look down upon anything that's not West European, and an Indian consumer product won't get far there .

Americans are the type of people to talk bullsh!t about Chinese product quality while they consume iPhones iPads and XBoxs and Wal-Mart's Chinese made products by the millisecond.

I am confused here.
So American's won't buy anything that is not western European, or they will buy and trash talk. If its the latter, then its okay, I am sure that when I last read profit loss statements of companies it only mentioned money earned an spent, there was no balance of trash words vs luxury words

That said, its not going to work. They have to offer something others do not offer. Hyundai cracked it after persisting, does Mahindra has the will and muscle to do so?

[A M]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I am confused here.

I think what he meant was that the Americans trash talk about the product from Chinese/Indian manufacturers and are unwilling to buy them. But if the same products are sold under Western European brands or American brands, they buy it.

Anyways, I agree with folks here. Mahindra should target a niche segment like farmers and provide them with a good pickup truck with low cost of ownership. The key here is QC being at par with the Japanese and a niggle free ownership (This I think is true for every market but some markets are more forgiving than others).
Although I hate VW for doing this (yes..I'm biased. Even though its not apparent to the customer but VW does sell a Touareg for >3Crores in the guise of Bentayga) but I agree that they should develop a platform that can be used across different products and markets so there investment is justified.

[D33-PAC]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I am confused here.
So American's won't buy anything that is not western European, or they will buy and trash talk. If its the latter, then its okay, I am sure that when I last read profit loss statements of companies it only mentioned money earned an spent, there was no balance of trash words vs luxury words

What I meant to say is the connotations that an INDIAN finished consumer product (whose appeal is determined by a perfectly fallible, irrational, not logic driven human being )has will make it very difficult to SELL because of the product's associations.



The profit and loss statement shows explicit numbers but it doesn't show you what gives you sale-ability (implicit) which is obviously very important in driving revenue.

This is why HCL failed. And that was liberal Silicon Valley where they were marketing their computer, not even rural USA where you could expect a buyer to be a redneck or a hillbilly.



I don't have a horse in this race. As someone who studied in the USA, I'm being practical.

Americans love big meaty gas guzzling things like the F150 Ford F350 Ford, Dodge blah blah blah, Chevy Blah blah blah. To think Mahindra from India with a tinge of Korean partnership can just walk in and steal the show is a huge lapse in rational expectations.

[anjan_c2007]

The American market is very tough to get into and settle down with good sales figures and also create a rosy balance sheet. Rather the toughest to crack in the world, for car makers. Mahindra had earlier failed to enter the US market with its Scorpio Getaway pick-up. Their next plan was to launch the Scorpio in the US market. This follow-up attempt too got aborted due to the Getaway debacle.

About the American tastes for imported products, the same Americans looked down upon the Japanese cars as "cheap Asian imports" prior to the oil shock of 1973. The oil shock caught the American Big Three dozing, with almost no compact cars in their portfolio to boast of.

The Japanese made a killing and almost all the Japanese brands and soon by 1978, they became household names in the US. Most of them established assembly lines. The Mazda Miata was a car many craved for. The Honda Accord reached the no. 1 best selling car about two decades ago and still comes back to the Top Five list saleswise, even now.

The case of the South Korean cars was similar, though it was not an oil shock that marked their entry in the US market. Hyundai Motors was the first to export its Hyundai Pony in 1986 from South Korea to the US . Quality niggles created a bad image. They did their homework well and from once being labelled as "cheap Asian imports" the Hyundai Sonata has now become a best seller (seen sometimes in the Top Five car sales list).

Coming back to the Mahindra UV, our homegrown MNC needs to set its act in order and offer a quality product in the US. Importing them from India may attract notice of the new US administration. So the one thing that is in their favour is that they are designing and making it in the US.

A good quality product at a competitive price has no reason not to generate good sales figures. And it will also be an uphill task for Mahindra to build up the " Indian company" image (not a single brand from our country has yet made it in the US) as the Japanese and the South Koreans have done all through slogging it out with their R & D efforts. They have come out with their very reliable and easy to maintain cars, that are also frugal on fuel.

[TejasKinger]

Mahindra is all set to open a manufacturing unit in the US in the heart of the automotive mecca, Detroit.

http://www.businessinsider.in/Mahind...w/59628170.cms

[anjan_c2007]

Yes, the report has also appeared in the ET of today. The off-roader from Mahindra will not be highway legal however. Its a part of their "Make in USA" plan and they will engage 3000 about workers. Their target is to sell a few thousand units in the US to start with.

The earlier plan to launch the Scorpio Getaway was shelved and this is a new portfolio they will manufacture and launch.

Also their plan to internationally launch an electric car on the lines of Tesla, using the Pininfarina brand name is quite ambitious. Remains to be seen as to how far they will be successful in marketing their products at the international level.

[TejasKinger]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Also their plan to internationally launch an electric car on the lines of Tesla, using the Pininfarina brand name is quite ambitious. Remains to be seen as to how far they will be successful in marketing their products at the international level.

I remember the Halo concept from the 2014 auto expo. Given their recent wins in the Formula-E, maybe we could see some of that tech trickle into this electric car.
The Halo looked slightly dated (almost like an older Mazda Miata), but it was still quite a looker. Decent interiors too. Now, if only it has the show to match the go.

[Shanksta]

Mahindra & Mahindra is planning to start operations in the USA with the Mahindra Thor. The Thor is based on the Thar platform and will use the 1.6 liter petrol engine from the Ssangyong Tivoli satisfying Euro VI norms. A manual transmission with 4*4 will be the drivetrain.

A Mahindra assembly plant in Auburn Hills, Michigan is set to be inaugurated on November 20. Either the Thor or an UTV (Utility Task Vehicle) will be first manufactured at the Detroit plant.

This is the second time Mahindra is seriously considering the North American market for passenger vehicles.

Source : Autocar Professional

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Shanksta

Mahindra & Mahindra is planning to start operations in the USA with the Mahindra Thor.

Isn't "Thor" a registered trademark? But more importantly, how on earth are they going to make a Thar crash test worthy?

[akshay380]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Isn't "Thor" a registered trademark? But more importantly, how on earth are they going to make a Thar crash test worthy?

IIRC, vehicles classified as trucks have relaxed crash test norms.