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Old 5th July 2012, 09:30   #1
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Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

Mahindra Group Vice Chairman & Managing Director Anand Mahindra yesterday inaugurated a 2 wheeler R&D facility in MIDC, Chinchwad near Pune. Team-BHP was invited along with several representatives of the mainstream and online media to a tour of the new facility on the day of its official inauguration.

Highlights:
  • The facility has been set up with an investment of Rs. 100 crore.
  • 2 new motorcycle engines were unveiled: a 110cc indigeneously developed air-cooled SOHC drivetrain that will do duty in the Stallio and a 300cc liquid-cooled 4-valve DOHC engine that will power the Mojo.
  • These, along with a "surprise" third motorcycle (rumoured to be the 125cc Cevalo but unconfirmed by the company's executives) will complete the planned launches of motorcycles for FY 2012-13.
  • The company claims it is meeting 200-300 customers every week seeking data on consumer needs and requirements and that all the insights gained are routed into R&D.
  • The Duro DZ and the recently launched Rodeo RZ are claimed to be the first products of the "technology driven innovation" approach being adopted by Mahindra.
  • Mahindra says the Pune facility already has 175 dedicated employees including IIT hires. It is headed by PS Ashok, formerly with M&M's Automobile R&D, who has been associated with projects such as the Maxximo and Gio.
  • The Duro Micro Hybrid, touted to save 5% in fuel spends and reduce 7% in emissions, is obviously derived heavily from the Micro Hybrid technology that is commercially available on the Scorpio. The company says that more such "ecosystem benefits" can be derived from Mahindra's "neural network" of blossoming R&D centres (Link to related thread)
  • Anand Mahindra in his address revealed a vision to make Mahindra a "mobility brand" spanning every aspect of the customer lifecycle from entry (scooterettes and entry-level motorbikes) to maturity (cars and SUVs). Interestingly he deflected a question on recession in the automobile industry saying he was there to speak about two wheelers only.
  • It appears the success of the XUV 5OO has convinced the company that "technology-driven products" are the way and the new R&D facility was a step in replicating this success in the 2 wheeler segment. Mahindra had entered the 2-wheeler business three and a half years ago with a technology partnership with SYM by launching the Flyte 125cc scooterette.
  • The company executives repeatedly downplayed suggestions that the timing of its market entry was ill-timed and claim they will invest 500cr in 2 wheeler R&D alone over the next five years while targeting an aggressive 20,000 cr topline from this business by the year 2020. Link to related thread

Last edited by noopster : 5th July 2012 at 14:04.
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Old 5th July 2012, 10:05   #2
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

The event commenced with lunch at 1:30 pm, which I skipped. Reached the venue, a fairly easy-to-find location off the old NH4 between Akurdi and Chinchwad, around 2:10 pm and called my Mahindra contact person. He quickly had me registered and ushered me into the press conference venue.

Clearly Mahindra was doing this in style:
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-venue.jpg

The Mahindra top management team were in full strength, and seemed eager to display their seriousness about this segment:
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-team2.jpg

Anand Mahindra addressing the press:
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-anandm.jpg

The formal inauguration of the 2 wheeler R&D facility:
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-formal_inaug.jpg
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-inaug_plaque.jpg

The big moment: unveiling of the 110cc and 300cc engine. Here they are flanking a Duro:
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-engines.jpg

Some shots of the Mojo to be launched later this FY:
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-mojo.jpg
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-mojo2.jpg
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-mojo3.jpg

---
A closer look at the engines (Pics from Mahindra's press kit)
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-img_0074_edit.jpg
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-img_0082_edit.jpg
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-img_0083_edit.jpg
Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-img_0090_edit.jpg

Last edited by noopster : 5th July 2012 at 14:02.
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Old 5th July 2012, 10:18   #3
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

A few glimpses of the R&D centre (Note: these are company-provided pics from the official press kit: photography was prohibited inside the facility)

Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-img_0042_edit.jpg
Engine testing in progress: the facility has 5 dynos and there was a different engine being tested in each. Mathur hinted that a 125cc engine may power the third motorcycle as yet unrevealed but went on to say that there were a number of intermediate engines between 110-300cc capacity that were in various stages of development.

Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-img_0015_edit.jpg
Chassis testing.

Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-img_0007_edit.jpg
Emission testing.
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Old 5th July 2012, 14:08   #4
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

Thread moved out of Assembly Line into the Motorcycles section.
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Old 5th July 2012, 14:32   #5
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

Dear all - we dared to dream and see the result today. I am one of the three people who started this activity as a skunk project, way back in 2002. I am very happy to see this thread today. I am attaching a photograph taken on 21 September 2005, which is very close to my heart!

Respected Mr.Anand Mahindra Sir - thank you Sir for realizing "THE POWER OF THE DREAM". All the best Sir! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar
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Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune-behram100cc.jpg  

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Old 5th July 2012, 14:39   #6
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

I have been very lucky to visit Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai officially for a few discussions. The facility is vast, saw a lot of their new prototypes and lab facilities which was quite impressive. I personally felt a lot nice to see such facilities at an Indian OEM.

This I am sure will be another great R&D setup for M&M

Mahindra Rise! is the buzzword.


Thanks noopster for sharing this info.
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Old 5th July 2012, 14:43   #7
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

Quote:
Originally Posted by noopster View Post
2 new motorcycle engines were unveiled: a 110cc indigeneously developed air-cooled SOHC drivetrain that will do duty in the Stallio and a 300cc liquid-cooled 4-valve DOHC engine that will power the Mojo.
Mojo, eh? Will Mike Myers be the brand ambassador?

On a serious note, good to see M&M devote their considerable resources to 2 wheeler R&D, rather than just rest on their laurels in the tractor and UV/MUV/SUV vehicle sectors.

Any chance of the Pune gang getting a tour of this establishment sometime?

Cheers,
Vikram
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Old 5th July 2012, 14:54   #8
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

The 300 cc liquid cooled motor looks yummy! How many bhp is it supposed to be pumping out?

The Mojo has too many pipes and too much plastic cladding all over.
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Old 5th July 2012, 16:56   #9
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

Kick me, but I honestly do not find any so drastically ugly on the Mojo to completely negate it. Yes, the headlamps look weird & some bits & parts look out of place, but how is the engine performance for a 300cc?
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Old 5th July 2012, 19:18   #10
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

that liquid cooled engine is probably their moto3 250cc engine. may be a toned down version of that may debut on the "mojo-jojo".
the other horizontal engine is a reverse engineered 1950s honda engine that is still doing duty on the hero motorcorp bikes even today! also the very one that bombed on the swiftly "withdrawn from market" stallio model.
good luck to mahindra anyway.
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Old 10th December 2013, 10:04   #11
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd., has received international patents for four technologies, which have been indigenously developed. They include a fuel gauge system, a distance to empty system, automatic ignition cut-off and engine immobilizer system.

Link to News Article
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Old 10th December 2013, 14:11   #12
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Re: Mahindra opens 100 cr. 2-wheeler R&D facility in Pune

It is a good news and the achievement is worth appreciating . Though Mahindra 2 Wheelers products are yet to take off in a big way, these features will force other manufacturers to offer more in their products.
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