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  • India’s Mahindra & Mahindra linked to bankrupt Saab

    In Cars, India, International News, Mahindra, Rumours, Saab / By / / 5 comments

    Saab may be bankrupt financially, but it has no lack of suitors. After rumours of a sale to the Turkish government surfaced last week, word has it that India’s biggest SUV maker is an interested party. The said company is Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, which is interested in buying at least parts of bankrupt Swedish carmaker, two people familiar with the situation said.

    The maker of the Scorpio is in the process of trying to set up meetings with the two court-appointed administrators who are overseeing Saab’s bankruptcy, according to the sources, who want to remain anonymous because the plans are private. M&M spokeswoman Roma Balwani declined to comment.

    M&M is no stranger to buying a bankrupt company. In early 2011, the Indian brand completed the purchase of a 70% stake in SsangYong Motor Co for about $368 million, as it sought to benefit from the South Korean company’s technology and international sales network. After the takeover, SsangYong revealed that it plans to spend more than 240 billion won ($208 million) on product development and brand building in the year, hinting at M&M’s financial muscle.

    Recently, Mahindra also bought out Renault’s stake in the Logan sedan joint venture and took control of Bangalore-based Reva Electric Car Co, so its appetite is obvious. Is Saab about to join the list?

     

  • Mahindra launches XUV500 in India – 2.2L VGT Diesel

    In Cars, India, Mahindra / By / / 37 comments

    Mahindra has launched a new SUV called the XUV500 in India. This modern looking seven seater SUV, viewed as the company’s most important SUV since the Scorpio, is also a landmark model – the XUV500 is the first Indian SUV to be built around a car-style monocoque chassis, which means no ladder frame and truck like suspension here.

    The XUV500 is powered by a 2.2-litre mHawk engine with Variable Geometry Turbocharger, VGT. This diesel engine is already found in the old school bodied Scorpio, but boast better figures here: 140 hp and 330 Nm of torque from 1,600 to 2,800 rpm. Indian customers can choose between FWD and AWD variants, but both share a six-speed manual gearbox.

    By the way, the Mahindra Scorpio is sold in Malaysia by USF, and the RM113k seven seater comes with a 120 hp/290 Nm version of the mHawk diesel lump, paired to a six-speed auto ‘box.

    Quantum leap in looks aside, the XUV500 should be a more comfortable ride than the Scorpio, since it comes with monocoque chassis, front MacPherson struts and rear multi link suspension. It sits much lower to the ground on those 235/65 R17 rubber, and the wheelbase is quite long at 2,700 mm. The AWD is of the full-time on demand variety, and it’s not a serious off roader. No diff lock, but there’s hill descent control.

    Attractive ex showroom Delhi prices start from Rs 10.8 lakh (RM70,400) for the 2WD W6 spec to Rs 12.88 lakh (RM83,900) for the range topping AWD W8 model.

     

  • Mahindra completes Ssangyong deal as scheduled

    In Cars, India, International News, Mahindra, Ssangyong / By / / 6 comments

    As scheduled, Mahindra & Mahindra has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in SsangYong Motor Company, and now owns a 70% share in the Korean automaker.

    The deal, which has seen Mahindra forking out US$463 million for the purchase, will see Ssangyong investing heavily this coming year on product development and brand building, now that cash is flowing in. Around 240 billion (US$211.8 million) Korean Won has been projected for expenditure, with 200 billion set for product development and 40 billion for brand builidng.

    Mahindra says that no decision has been taken yet on whether there would be any changes involving renaming Ssangyong or with the branding of its products. Plans to launch the Rexton and Korando-C in India have already begun – the two vehicles are expected be introduced there by the end of this year.

     

  • Mahindra and Renault compete to buy stake in bankrupt Ssangyong

    In International News, Mahindra, Renault, Ssangyong / By / / 16 comments

    Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra have announced their interest in taking over the now bankrupt Korean car maker Ssangyong. But that’s not all, they are facing competition from their Indian market partners Renault in the bid.

    M&M and Renault have history together as they used to be partners in the production of the Logan series cars in India. Nissan came in later on in a threeway deal. But in 2008, Mahindra exited the venture and bought up Renault’s stake in Logan JV. Due to problems within the two companies sales of Logan suffered dramatically.

    Other bidders in the mix include Ruia Group, the owners of Dunlop India, Korean aluminium producer SM Group, private equity fund Seoul Investment and a company that makes Daewoo buses. The Ruia Group as confident about their chances, as they feel that they have the expertise in turning ‘sick’ companies around. They have identified value in the business thus have put in a bid for the same.

    Estimates from the South Korean media have stated that the bids put in place were somewhere in between $300 to $500 million. Clearly both Renault and Mahindra see some ‘value’ (as the Ruia Group put it) in Ssangyong. Mahindra that dominates the Indian SUV market, is planning to launch its own brand in the US, thus modern (some Mercedes-Benz derived) SUV technology such that used in the Rexton and Kyron would come in handy.

    Mahindra is currently filling up it’s portfolio with a variety of buyouts which include the recent purchase of REVA electric. REVA previously had dealings with GM in the production of an electric car, but pulled out close to the time Mahindra announced its buyout of the EV producing company.

     

  • Mahindra aims to electrify India with purchase of REVA

    In Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Mahindra / By / / 18 comments

    Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has announced the purchase of a majority stake in Bangalore based REVA Electric Car Co. Ltd. Mahindra now owns 55.2% stake in REVA, which will now be known as Mahindra REVA Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd. Buying into an established EV maker is further proof that M&M wants to electrify the Indian auto market, and “book” the segment before players like Nissan jump in.

    Mahindra has on its own been working hard on developing eco-friendly technology, under its Sustainable Mobility Initiative. This has seen the development of green technologies such as the diesel hybrid Scorpio and hydrogen Alfa three wheeler. First of its kind in India, Mahindra also launched a 100% biodiesel fleet which has now grown to about 50,000 vehicles. The company is also currently working on an electric version of its Maxximo mini truck. REVA’s EV technology will now be adapted for M&M vehicles.

    REVA is currently marketing its products in 24 countries across the world with an overall vehicle population of over 3,500 units, claimed as the largest EV fleet globally. Introduced in London in 2004 under the G-Wiz brand, REVA premiered its next generation electric car models, the NXR and NXG, and the REVive remote emergency charge system, REVA’s unique proprietary technology, at last year’s Frankfurt show.

    Pictures of REVA’s latest products after the jump.
    Read more ›

     

  • Future Indian Logan to use Mahindra badge

    In Cars, India, Mahindra, Renault / By / / 12 comments

    We recently posted that Renault and Mahindra & Mahindra’s rocky relationship in India has avoided divorce, and that the unsuccessful Logan will be given a second chance. That basic car, although well received in other markets, was expensive in India due to higher excise duty for cars longer than 4 metres and a relatively large engine compared to other bargain cars. It also looked rather drab and low cost as opposed to say, a Maruti Swift.

    Well, the future arrangement is like this. The upcoming modified sub 4-metre version of the Logan will be manufactured, sold and badged in India as a Mahindra, which means no more Renault logos. The French company will receive royalty for each car sold and is said to be keen on purchasing the Logan from Mahindra to sell it in South Africa. According to Indian Autos Blog, the “new Logan” will surface 18 months from now. The same source adds that M&M is also looking to craft out a sub 4-metre SUV in 2012 from the Logan’s platform, possibly with a 1.5-litre three-cylinder diesel engine.

    For the meantime, the company has slashed Logan prices to boost sales figures. Indian carbuyers will get savings of Rs 24,000 to Rs 80,000 (RM 1,700 – RM 5,700) depending on variant. Let’s hope the promotions don’t include throwing in these very inappropriate Renault Megane R26 R style graphics!

    Source

     

  • Renault and Mahindra mend ties, Logan gets second chance

    In Cars, India, International News, Mahindra, Renault / By / / 3 comments


    The Dacia Logan was one of the earliest low cost cars designed specifically for developing markets such as Eastern Europe. Renault, who owns Romanian Dacia, found success with the Logan and even started sales in Western Europe, which wasn’t part of the project’s original goals. India was supposed to be the next frontier, projected to bring in massive volume (and profits) but it hasn’t worked out that way.

    Renault partnered with Indian manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra to make and market the Logan, but dismal sales has resulted in production being slashed to 500 units per month, way below the projected 50,000 units per year. It seemed that they had underestimated Indian consumers, who weren’t impressed by the Logan’s basic looks and spec, but not so basic price. The JV started to lose money, and a strain started to develop between the partners. So when Renault recently decided to set up its own production and sales unit in India, everyone saw the writing on the wall for the partnership.

    However, the latest news is that the two parties have avoided a divorce and will soon announce a new restructured plan. The Logan will be repositioned as a “small car” with overall length reduced to below 4 metres. This is to comply with India’s car size boundaries for the Logan to attract a lower excise of 10% (currently 22%). The petrol engine’s capacity will be brought down to 1.2 litres from the current 1,400-1,600cc. The 1.5-litre diesel will remain. All these tweaks will give the Logan a more competitive price. At present, the base Logan 1.4 GL costs 452,629 rupees, which is more expensive than a base Maruti Swift at below 400,000 rupees (ex-showroom, Delhi).

    Should Proton enter the Indian market with the Saga, it will also face the same problem as the Logan, since the Saga’s overall length measures 4,257 mm. Of Proton’s current cars, only the Savvy and Satria Neo hatchbacks duck in below 4 metres.

    Source

     

  • Mahindra-Renault begins restructuring due to dismal Logan sales

    In Cars, India, International News, Mahindra, Renault / By / / 35 comments

    Think of “low cost car” and before the Tata Nano came up you’ll most likely think of the Renault Logan. The Logan is a car designed from the beginning to be very cheap to build, which means everything is low cost down to the design of the car’s exterior and interior, which feature shapes that are technically easy to cast and mould, etc.

    You’d think that the Logan would do well in India but for some reason the Mahindra Renault Logan flopped. Last year’s sales only justified a production run of well under 20,000 units per annum – less than a third of Mahindra’s planned capacity of 50,000 units. The Mahindra Renault JV lost 4.9 billion rupees in the 2008/09 financial year.

    The Indian-majority 51:49 JV is currently scaling down its business to adjust to lower than expected sales of the Logan. Everything will be slashed down to a level of business that supports only 500 units sales per month – that’s just 6,000 a year! India is a huge huge country with a massive customer base and that’s really low considering in Malaysia we saw the Perodua Myvi hit just over 7,000 registrations in November 2009 while the Saga did just over 6,000. Even moving up the price segments, a total of 791 Honda Civics were registered in November. So 500 a month in India is low.

    The Logan’s failure is attributed to various factors – its higher price due to escalating material costs due to a rising Euro, a less than desirable low-cost styling which did not gel well to the tastes of an increasingly sophisticated Indian consumer’s tastebuds, etc.

    Rising material costs due to forex is a real issue to the Logan as it is claimed that over half the Logan’s content is imported, and current volumes do not justify localization of supply in India. The Logan’s size is also over 4 meters in length so it is in one excise tax bracket too high.

    I know many unrelated stories somehow end up being related to Proton in the comments but in this case I feel it is worth mentioning that these cases should be studied closely and taken seriously by Proton’s export team in order to ensure that a Proton entry in India is successful. For one, the Saga looks way better than the Logan so I don’t think that will be an issue! With the current Proton management’s product planning style of taking market research seriously, let’s hope that an Indian entry will be a good one.

     

  • Mahindra acquires Italian motorcycle firm

    In Bikes, Cars, India, International News, Mahindra / By / / 8 comments

    Mahindra LogoIndian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, a company popular for their SUVs and trucks is putting a firm foot into the opposite end of the vehicle range with their recent acquisition of Engines Engineering S.p.A., an Italian engine design and manufacturing firm.

    Mahindra through its unit Mahindra Systech will begin R&D of small and fuel efficient engines for cars such as the Tata Nano and the upcoming Nissan-Renault-Bajaj ULC. Engines Engineering S.p.A. started off designing motorcycles, and some of its motorcycle clients include Ducati, Honda, and Yamaha.

    Mahindra did not say if it already had any clients who are looking for small engines or whether it is already in discussions with potential clients, but if there are no takers Mahindra can always build a small car themselves, since it is all the rage now.

    Source

     

  • Mahindra wants to CKD pick-ups

    In Cars, India, Local News, Mahindra / By / / 15 comments

    small_scorpio.jpgIndian automotive manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra and DRB-HICOM’s unit USF-HICOM (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd are currently studying a proposal to assemble CKD pick-up trucks via a joint-venture in Malaysia. USF-HICOM’s management is currently studying the feasibility, and in-depth talks have not been held yet.

    USF-HICOM currently distributes the Mahindra Scorpio SUV in both petrol and diesel variants here in Malaysia. Mahindra’s pick-up truck arsenal includes the Mahindra Utility, the Mahindra NC640DP, the Mahindra Pik-up and Mahindra Pik-up CBC.

    DRB-HICOM also distributes pick-up trucks from Mahindra’s main Indian rival, the Tata Group. DRB-HICOM’s unit Scott & English (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd sells RM60 million worth of Tata vehicles yearly. Previously, there was news about Tata assembling cars here in Malaysia, which might include the Tata Indica small-sized city hatchback.

    Source

    Related News:
    Possible Tata Indica local assembly
    Mahindra to assemble pick-up trucks in Malaysia
    Proton and Mahindra strategic alliance

     
 
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