Mahindra Speaks: Joint Ventures, Acquisitions, and US Vehicles

“Unfortunately, I can’t talk too much about it because it’s a legal situation. But it’s unfortunate, and we have to be honest about that. It’s not something we would have liked to happen, it’s something we are dealing with and hope to overcome it. All we are saying is that we remain committed to entering the market, but clearly this is an obstacle.” Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra; regarding the lawsuit filed against Mahindra & Mahindra by US Mahindra vehicle importer, Global Vehicles USA


India’s Economic Times interviewed Anand Mahindra to get his perspective on Mahindra & Mahindra’s many recent partnerships and acquisitions in the technology, automotive, and aerospace industries.

Mahindra & Mahindra has recently acquired Australian aircraft manufacturer Gippsland Aeronautics, with the intention of building fixed-wing aircraft in India within the next three years. Mahindra has also taken over majority stake in Indian-American electric car company, Reva. Most recently, Mahindra has been rumored to be communicating with Proton/Lotus about a partnership, and they are currently completing due diligence on the potential acquisition of failing South Korean auto manufacturer, Ssangyong.

Mahindra clearly has high expectations for M&M and India to become global economic and technology powerhouses. In the interview, Mahindra emphasizes that there is method to their JV and acquisition madness:

“We will do joint ventures with other elements of the automotive industry, whether it’s trucks, vans two wheelers, everything else. We are open to alliances because what they allow us is to mimic the benefits of a large automotive company. And when you add our tractors into this then we are a company which is already over half million vehicles without even counting two wheelers which are growing, and not even counting trucks. Nobody can actually say that we have drawbacks of a niche player. We have the volumes to build scale where scale is needed, procurement, R&D etc.” – Anand Mahindra

While Mahindra is very clear about on-road vehicle and tractor market strategies, it is still unclear when their line of 30mpg, all-diesel, pickup trucks and SUVs will arrive in the United States.

Anand Mahindra’s comments certainly seem to suggest that the lawsuit filed by Global Vehicles could delay the US introduction of these rugged, India-made pickups beyond the currently expected December 2010 launch date. Further delays would be ironic considering that the foundation of the lawsuit accuses Mahindra of purposely delaying their entry into the United States. The future of the Mahindra TR20 and TR40 pickups is still unknown.

To read the entire interview, click here: None of our M&As are done for ego and size: Anand Mahindra (popup warning)