Mahindra, Indian for 'Rise'

With the help of New York-based ad agency StrawberryFrog, Mahindra has announced that it will begin using a singular global branding campaign for all facets of its international business.


Mahindra will use the word ‘Rise’ to unify and identify all of their global business entities from tractors and defense, to SUV’s and information technology services.

"For Mahindra, 'Rise' means achieving world class standards in everything we do, setting new benchmarks of excellence and conquering tough global markets," Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd

Mahindra announced last year that it was impressed with the work of StrawberryFrog (Fosters Beer being one of their better known ad campaigns in the US) and had partnered with them for a global branding effort. You may recall that StrawberryFrog had originally been hired by Mahindra’s US pickup truck distribution partner, Global Vehicles, in 2008 to create a grassroots advertising campaign for the perpetually delayed Mahindra TR20 and TR40 compact diesel pickups. Neither the ad campaign nor the vehicles ever materialized.

With two of four US partners left standing (StrawberryFrog and Navistar), we just hope that Mahindra will ‘Rise’ to their commitment to bringing their pickups and SUVs to America.

Source: The Economic Times

Mahindra v. Tata: What Statement Does the Donation Battle Make?

Has anyone been following the charitable donation battle between Anand Mahindra and Ratan Tata? In a nutshell, Mahindra donated USD $10 million to Harvard a couple of weeks ago to secure the re-naming of a humanities center to The Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard. To up the ante, Ratan Tata (Mahindra’s biggest Indian automotive rival and owner of Jaguar and Land Rover) recently donated USD $50 million to the Harvard Business School for a new building to be named Tata Hall.


It’s understandable that both of these incredibly successful Indian businessmen want to give back to their Alma Mater (and satisfy their equally incredible egos), but it also stirs controversy in India. Just when you think the divide between the haves and the have-nots in America is getting bigger every day; we’ve got nothing on India. So, what’s to be gained by donating millions of dollars to a foreign university (that isn’t exactly cash-strapped to begin with) while millions of your fellow countrymen live in utter poverty?

Is it all about image? Do these charitable acts give credence to those who have suspected all along that Mahindra (and possibly Tata) only wants to sell vehicles in the US to gloat about the achievement and fluff up their status as an Indian international success story just to sell more cars at home?

It’s my sincere hope that both of these men make far more charitable contributions to those in need than these very public donations to a wealthy American institution portray. I personally believe there is a bigger statement to be made by taking a more stealthy approach to giving, but hey, the Salvation Army probably isn’t going to let me re-name one of their second-hand stores no matter how many lightly used slacks I donate. Personal satisfaction, warm feelings, and good karma be damned, they should at least paint my name on the side of a Red Kettle come Christmas time. Anonymous gifting is so overrated.

So are these multi-million dollar Harvard donations simply a good deed, or just good business?

Sources: Stuff Rich People Love, The Wall Street Journal, All Headline News

December Mahindra Launch Date Is Now “No Date”

PickupTrucks.com is reporting this morning via AP reports that Mahindra is no longer stating that a thrice delayed US launch date of December 2010 is expected for their India-made small diesel pickup trucks.


Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd’s vice chairman and managing director, Anand Mahindra, told an interviewer that “we’re still interested in getting into the US”. However, he went on to say that “we don’t want to turn this into a war of words” regarding a very public legal and PR battle over distribution of the pickups with US importer Global Vehicles USA (GV).

GV has maintained that they intend to move forward with introducing and launching the vehicles in US despite Mahindra’s continued statements that they have terminated their contract with GV and no longer regard them as a business partner. GV went so far as to officially place an order for $35 million of TR20 and TR40 pickups with Mahindra on September 24th only to have it rejected a few days later.

The Mahindra soap opera continues.
Source: PickupTrucks.com

Mahindra Files For Dismissal of Global Vehicles Lawsuit

According to GlobalAtlanta.com, Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra Limited has countered a lawsuit filed against them by US-based vehicle importer, Global Vehicles USA, Inc. On June 28th, Mahindra filed a request for dismissal of the lawsuit.


Georgia based Global Vehicles (GV) is the exclusive importer for a yet-to-be launched line of India-made Mahindra pickup trucks. On June 14th, GV filed a lawsuit in US district court against Mahindra for USD $35 million, claiming that Mahindra has repeatedly and purposely delayed the release of their US line of 30 mpg, diesel-powered pickup trucks.

Since news of GV’s lawsuit first broke, Mahindra & Mahindra’s vice chairman and managing director, Anand Mahindra, has publicly stated that the grounds of the lawsuit are baseless. It appears that this request for dismissal backs up those statements.

Mahindra is claiming that the dispute should be resolved in arbitration, not in a US federal court. Mahindra calls into question the jurisdiction of any US court over the Indian company’s agreement with GV. The filing also claims that Mahindra has not been properly served by Global Vehicles who has submitted paperwork to a US Mahindra subsidiary, and not directly to Mahindra in India.

Despite legal posturing by both parties, it appears that Mahindra still has not obtained EPA certifications for the US-bound pickups, nor have they formally registered trademark protection for the Mahindra TR20 and Mahindra TR40 names. The request for dismissal of the lawsuit does not address accusations of purposeful delivery delays claimed by GV, but does suggest that Mahindra would prefer to negotiate with Global Vehicles behind closed doors instead of in the public realm.

Stay tuned.

Source: GlobalAtlanta

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)

Episode V: Anand Strikes Back

"Yes, an unfortunate development. Groundless charges; Can't comment since now legal,"

- Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra (via Twitter, @AnandMahindra)

The Times of India reports that Mahindra finds the lawsuit filed against them by US importer, Global Vehicles USA, Inc., to be without merit. Mahindra intends to refute GV’s allegations that Mahindra has not held up to US vehicle delivery expectations.

To read the complaint filed by GV in Atlanta District Court on Monday, follow the link to Jalopnik who have been kind enough to post the document in its entirety: This is the Lawsuit (Thanks GoSlicker007 for the tip)

Sources: Times of India, Jalopnik

Mahindra Buys Majority Stake in Reva Electric Car

As Mahindra Planet reported in April, Mahindra has been rumored to be in negotiations with Indian/American electric vehicle manufacturer, Reva Electric Car Co. Ltd., to take over majority stake in the company. Reports this morning confirm that Mahindra now owns 55.2% of Reva. The new company will be renamed Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicle Co.


Reva, through its US importer Bannon Automotive, has been working for the past several months to establish an electric car manufacturing site in the Syracuse, New York area. Plans for the Central New York manufacturing facility have been steadily moving forward since recently acquiring federal, state, and local grants for the project.

Mahindra plans to initially invest USD $9.5 million into the new Reva venture.

"Our association with Reva will only help us further expand our green footprint both in India and overseas." Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman, Managing Director, Mahindra Group (@AnandMahindra on Twitter)

Mahindra & Mahindra wants to be seen as a global leader in green automotive technology. Mahindra will be introducing the first Indian made pickup trucks (the Mahindra TR20 and TR40) to the United States in December of this year. The Mahindra pickups will only be available with clean diesel engines and are anticipated to attain 30mpg while prices start at USD $22,000.

The first Mahindra pickups sold in the US will be entirely manufactured in India. However, Mahindra has been actively looking for a suitable US facility to assemble pickups and other vehicles in order to avoid the 25% “chicken tax” imposed on foreign made vehicles imported to the United States.

The Mahindra Reva facility in Central New York could provide Mahindra with some positive insight into the manufacturing prowess, technology community, and skilled workforce that the Syracuse area offers. Maybe Mahindra will even consider building clean technology pickups and SUVs in CNY as well.

Source: AP via Syracuse.com

Recycling, Mahindra’s EPA Submission, and a StrawberryFrog

Mahindra Pickup News for 07-May-2010


Recycling
Without much news to report on from Mahindra & Mahindra or their US-based importer, Global Vehicles, some serious news recycling went down in the automotive cyberspace yesterday.

Autoblog Green added their two cents to the Mahindra EPA submission story that Automotive News broke over a week ago. We think some internet motor journalists had a few too many Corona’s for Cinco de Mayo. But the hardcore Mahindra fan will still want to check out the story. The Autoblog Green article is here. The Automotive News article is here. The PickupTrucks.com article is here. The Mahindra Planet article (with news of Mahindra’s SsangYong bid) is here.

Insider: “Government Has Nothing to Review”
Ward’s Autoworld did have a bit of insight yesterday. They quoted an unnamed Global Vehicles insider that told them Mahindra has still not submitted required paperwork to the EPA for approval. With an estimated 90 day timeframe for approval and arrival of the first US-bound TR20 and TR40 pickups, it will certainly be August before they are available. However, rumors heard on MahindraTruckForum.com call for a fall launch with a low-key promotion effort, and an 18-truck, cross-country caravan to promote the brand. Thanks Moulin6801!

StrawberryFrog?
Way, way back (in early February 2008) Global Vehicles announced that they had brought on internationally recognized ad agency StrawberryFrog to launch the advertising effort for Mahindra in the USA. At the time, StrawberryFrog had just missed out on landing the US account for Hyundai and were hungry for a US automotive account. At the time, a grass-roots advertising campaign was to be launched that would include mostly internet-based ad work and strategic print advertising. None of which materialized. Or maybe the advertising was so slick and clandestine that we just haven’t noticed…

Fast forward to yesterday and PRNewswire reports that Mahindra & Mahindra has globally hired StrawberryFrog to “develop a global Cultural Movement brand strategy”. We interpret that as unifying the Mahindra brand and making it globally recognizable. Much like General Electric is universally recognized whether or not you know that they make trains and jet engines in addition to light bulbs and home appliances.

"StrawberryFrog is helping us develop a Cultural Movement strategy, innovative global brand and digital strategy, as well as activation. We are impressed with StrawberryFrog's global track record in innovation, and excellence in strategy, technology, business, and creativity. They have demonstrated for us strategic and creative ingenuity and we are very satisfied with our collaboration." - Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman, Managing Director, Mahindra Group

So sayeth the man whose name is the brand. Will this mean that we will be seeing Mahindra truck advertising in the US soon? We certainly hope so!

Sources: As hyperlinked, and thanks to Moulin6801 for the tips and the image!

Anand Mahindra Interview: “You Just Have to Be in the US”

“We want to build a globally renowned brand in our niche area of sport and utility vehicles. We want to be the first and best-known Indian brand around the world, and when you have that mission, you have to be global, and you just have to be in the US. As the Frank Sinatra number goes, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” – Anand Mahindra

Vikram Khanna recently interviewed Anand Mahindra for The Business Times. The interview discusses the Mahindra Group’s start as a venture to build Jeeps for India to becoming the USD $6.5 billion multifaceted international entity it is today.

Mahindra relates his company’s success with installing tractor engines in Jeeps during the oil crisis of the early 1970’s to their current push in the direction of high-efficiency diesel powered pickups and SUV’s during the current global economic turmoil:

“For example, in 1973 when the first oil crisis hit, before I joined the company, sales of gasoline vehicles tanked. Within six months, Mahindras reached across the wall, we picked up the diesel engine from our tractors and planted it into our jeeps. And we never made a loss, whereas every other car company plunged after '73. That story, I think, really encapsulates our DNA. We react very quickly, we respond very well to crises and see opportunities when they may not seem evident.”

Mahindra goes on to discuss his thoughts on Mahindra making it in America:

“If you are able to meet US standards of safety and regulation, you are frankly at the cutting edge. Then you can compete anywhere in the world. The diesel vehicle we're about to launch has met emission standards even in California, which are the toughest. So we're ahead of the curve as far as emission controls are concerned.”

Mahindra continues his perspective on the timing of US market entrance:

“Just when people think there's going to be no growth in America, the way we see it, that's the time to go in. What better time can you get than when the entire auto industry in the US has been shaken up and rattled, when the historical loyalty to the big three carmakers is at its lowest ebb? American consumers today are willing to experiment with challenger brands like they have never done before. The breed of consumers who were loyal to GM or Chrysler all their lives doesn't exist any more. As a brand name, Mahindra is not unknown in the US; it has been selling tractors there for 20 years and is the fourth largest player in that market.”

Mahindra goes on to address the US fans and the haters out there as well:

“So if you look at the blogs coming out about us, obviously there is some skepticism about an Indian company entering the US car market, but there are also people saying, wow, if I can get a compact diesel pickup, that's just what I've been looking for. So these are perfect conditions to go in. Yes we have to take a risk. Will we succeed? I don't know, it's the world's toughest market. But we'll never know unless we try.”

To read the interview in its entirety, click here: India Inc’s Renaissance Man

Sources: The Business Times via AsiaOne.com

Yet Another Saab Story: Mahindra Buying Spree

Months ago Mahindra announced a strategic partnership with Navistar, International Truck and Engine Corporation, to build India-specific heavy trucks powered by India-built MaxxForce engines. In November, Mahindra announced a joint venture with BAE to build military vehicles in India. Not that long ago, Mahindra announced they were going to pursue the Indian two-wheeled market beyond scooters and begin building motorcycles. Recently, Mahindra has been in talks with Boeing and Airbus about supplying aviation components, and last week Mahindra bought two Australian aerospace companies. This week, Mahindra released news of a joint venture with Chinese tractor manufacturer Yueda.

Where will it stop? The speculation about Mahindra buying the rotting corpse of Saab from fallen automotive giant GM still looms large.

Last week, Twitter users who follow Anand Mahindra noticed an odd Tweet (well, a Re-Tweet actually) about Mahindra in position to buy Saab. Far-fetched for sure, but it was certainly interesting that Mahindra took the time to read and Re-Tweet (RT) the sentiment. It appeared as follows:

@AnandMahindra: RT @anishkurien: GM winding up Saab good chance for M&M to
take over an international brand at a bargain./Well wht do u think of d
brand?

Mahindra did not publicly respond to the question, but it is pretty interesting that he did put it out there for the Twitter universe to see.

Mahindra & Mahindra have been on a global buying/partnering spree in the past year. And over the last three years, Mahindra has shown a great deal of interest in buying several international automotive enterprises including Hummer, Land Rover, Bertone (the Italian auto design house), and most recently one of Fiat’s factories in Italy.

When GM announced the sale of Saab in November, speculation of Mahindra’s interest first surfaced. Could Mahindra step in at the last minute and soak up the Saab gravy at a bargain basement sale price?

Sources: As Hyperlinked

Anand Mahindra Interview: India, The Next Gorilla

Forbes posted a great article with Anand Mahindra last week. Mahindra discusses India’s economic relationship with the United States and how they compare with China.

Mahindra also addresses timing for the US launch of the TR20 and TR40 pickups during our massive economic recession:

“Sometimes the best time is when everyone is advocating against it. The reality is that we're going in with a compact diesel pickup that gives 30 miles per gallon. There's a space in the market for this new, green product. The erstwhile behemoths of the U.S. auto industry are in the midst of restructuring, so there are good dealerships available. There could be no better time for a challenger.”

To read the rest of the excellent article in its entirety follow the link: Here

Source: Forbes.com

Mahindra: Exploring All Options to Manufacture Pickup Trucks in the US

A Wall Street Journal interview posted Friday morning with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Anand Mahindra indicates that Mahindra is actively seeking options to build Mahindra vehicles in the United States.

Mahindra states that he is aware of the “great amount of capability and capacity available” to manufacture vehicles in the US. Mahindra goes on the explain that there are no firm plans yet, but options include buying or leasing an existing plant, or building a new facility. He also states that Mahindra does not plan to enter a joint venture for US expansion, quelling any rumors of partnering with Navistar/International or other manufacturers for production on US soil.

The interview also discusses Mahindra's burgeoning tractor sales in China and Africa despite the global economic downturn, and how US and European sales have begun to stabilize. The article in its entirety can be found: Here

Source: WSJ