Mahindra Committed to Ultra-Competitive US Pickup Truck Market

MahindraPlanet has been continuing a dialogue with Global Vehicles USA’s Mike Geylin over the last two weeks. We’ll summarize all that has transpired:

MahindraPlanet posted our Open Letter to Mahindra on September 8th. The letter addressed concerns gathered from readers of this blog, and general commentary from around the net. The intent was to offer constructive criticism and solicit a response from Mahindra which we did receive.

Contact
As noted by our comment contributors (thanks joecallimachus and Anonymous) the GV/Mahindra website and contact email address had some issues. This was confirmed by Geylin:

“I understand yours and some of the correspondents’ frustration over
non-responses and I apologize. There was an issue on our end with emails going
to infor@gv-usa.com we have addressed this issue.”

Launch
Delays have plagued the Mahindra pickup launch. With my personal experience in heavy truck and bus OEMs and Tier 1 automotive engineering, I can relate to vehicle launch issues. All of my experience was with domestic product and companies with established history and infrastructure in the North American market. Trust me, it is difficult to launch a new vehicle domestically, I can’t imagine the logistic challenges Mahindra is facing. No specifics were discussed, but it is clear that GV and Mahindra want their trucks to be the best possible product they can put in front of US consumers.

“As for the delays – these are quite normal with an introduction like ours. Much
more important to all parties involved – dealers, Global Vehicles, Mahindra
& Mahindra as well prospective customers – is getting the pickup truck
RIGHT, not meeting an “artificial” on-sale date. The United States is the most
sophisticated and competitive pickup-truck market, so the challenges for getting
things right looms large. Our and M&M’s aim is to do just that.”

MahindraPlanet will continue to bring you news as it comes our way. Have an opinion on the delays or any other aspect of Mahindra in North America? Make sure you vote on our launch date poll in the upper right corner, or post a comment. As always, please leave your comments, suggestions, questions, or complete flame-jobs on our posts or send them via email. If you have a tip, story idea, or would like to contribute to MahindraPlanet, please contact us: Christian.Winfield@MahindraPlanet.com

Mahindra Response and Some New Photos

There has been a lot of response to our previous post containing the open letter to Mahindra. As a brief follow up to that post, we will say this: Mahindra/Global Vehicles USA is watching the web and they are very concerned about public perception of their actions and their vehicles. More later…

In the mean time, we have ‘happened upon’ some new photos of the TR20, TR40, and Scorpio facelift. These are not photos of the US versions, but it still gives us a “preview of coming attractions” so to speak.

We have also learned that the hood scoop which we negatively commented on in the past is actually a functional design element. Apparently the intercooler will be top-mounted (Subaru-style) in the engine compartment. Knowing that it has a purpose is a palate cleanser. We like functional design!

Summer of Discontent: An Open Letter to Mahindra and Global Vehicles

Several individuals have emailed us or left comments in past couple of weeks. First of all, we want to thank you for the great comments and support! However, it seems that many readers are very skeptical about Mahindra vehicles ever actually making it to US shores and we want to address this concern.

MahindraPlanet
First off, we want to be completely transparent: MahindraPlanet.com is a fan and news blog about Mahindra trucks. MahindraPlanet is NOT affiliated with Mahindra U.S.A, Inc., Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, or Global Vehicles U.S.A., Inc. The only vested interest we have is to satisfy our own personal fascination with Mahindra trucks and news about Mahindra in North America. We also hope that readers will support our advertisers and in turn, support the blog financially.

Secondly, we have our own reservations as well. Global Vehicles (GV) is the face of Mahindra on-road vehicles in the US. Global Vehicles is not responsive to requests from MahindraPlanet, or from individuals who have also contacted them directly. A bit baffling, since we would expect that GV and Mahindra would love to promote the brand and get information out there to build anticipation for Mahindra pickups and SUVs.

Mahindra Marketing
Mahindra has been very specific about creating a grassroots level advertising campaign for the TR20, TR40, and subsequent models. MahindraPlanet feels that this blog, other news sites, and great forums (like TractorByNet.com and ExpeditionPortal.com) are a huge asset to the promotion of Mahindra in the US and abroad. We are very curious as to why GV and Mahindra do not seem to utilize this media.

It is our opinion that Mahindra & Mahindra is very serious about entering the US vehicle market. They have clearly stated that they see the US becoming their top export market. Mahindra has also taken the time to submit a vehicle to JD Powers and Associates for feedback, to ensure a successful launch. We believe this dedication to providing a quality product is partially to blame for launch delays.

It is also our opinion that several dealers are very excited about the Mahindra product. MahindraNC and Mississippi Mahindra are clearly active in their early marketing efforts and maintain current websites with news, blogs, and information.

We have no doubt that Mahindra and the US dealer network are onboard. However, our reservations lie with Global Vehicles. News is slow and they are silent. We wonder why they aren’t clearly promoting Mahindra trucks, delays or not. We still don’t even know if TR20 and TR40 are actually the official names for these pickups. It seems that Mahindra is relying on GV (as importer and marketer) to be the voice of Mahindra trucks in the US, but they aren’t speaking.

Open Letter to Mahindra and Global Vehicles
In an internet age when secrets are hard to keep, Mahindra (through GV) seems to hold onto a lot of details that people really want to know (dealers, performance, pricing, etc.). The latest news suggests that the official launch will be in February of 2010. That’s only six months away. It seems to us that this is a great time to build some buzz for the brand. No Facebook, no MySpace, no Twitter… why?

Mahindra and Global Vehicles, if you are listening, understand that you have a lot of fans. Many of whom are already sold on Mahindra trucks. But please also understand that we are hungry for more information. Understand that if you treat us like part of the family, you will build brand loyalty before the first tire touches the road. If you remain a stoic and faceless entity, you will lose customers before you even have a product to sell. This is Web 2.0 Marketing 101, just look at what Mahindra USA does with their website.

MahindraPlanet encourages Mahindra, GV USA, and US dealers to engage this blog. MahindraPlanet also encourages Mahindra to engage other news sites and forums. Ask for our opinions (we do want manual transmissions!). Speak to us on a personal level and listen to us when we ask questions or make suggestions.

Mahindra, we hope you are listening.