It is official Mahindra has announced its plans to launch the SsangYong Rexton, REVA NXR and a compact SUV (mini-Xylo) bu the festive season this year. The Rexton and REVA NXR have been displayed to the public at the 2012 Auto Expo. The compact SUV which is the mini-Xylo is still undergoing tests and will be less than 4-meters in length. The company will also launch the Maxximo Passenger Van in June 2012, while the Verito Compact Sedan (sub 4-meter in length) will only see a market introduction early next year. These vehicles will help Mahindra keep the momentum as it looks at increasing its sales and offering customers something unique and different. The Rexton will be positioned above the Mahindra XUV5OO and is based on the Mercedes-Benz M-Class.

Mahindra had lifted the curtains off the REVA NXR, which is the next generation of electric vehicles from its electric car division. The NXR will replace the original REVA, which was criticized for poor inadequate battery backup and poor performance. The REVA NXR is said to address these issues and more. The quality looks far better than what we have seen on REVA vehicles when it was an independent company. Power will be adequate for a top speed of 80 kmph and the REVA NXR is expected to be priced around Rs. 4.5 lakhs. Mahindra has utilized technology from its REVA division to showcase a Verito Electric Vehicle Concept at the Auto Expo and we can expect the Scorpio to drop the Micro tag in the future to become a full hybrid.

Mahindra showcased the Verito Electric vehicle at the 2012 Auto Expo. The Verito Electric is powered by REVA technology. It uses an 29 KW AC motor and can run upto 100 kms on a single charge. The gearbox is a single speed with reverse, forward, neutral and boost mode! It is a pure electric vehicle using a Li-Ion battery and is clutchless. Noise levels are extremely low and the on-board telematics give important information to the driver. Mahindra claims the Verito Electric has a fast charging port provision which enables it to charge in just 75 minutes. The normal charging time is 6 hours though. Top speed is just 86 kmph and the Verito Electric is scheduled for market introduction as soon as November 2012.

Mahindra had the complete SsangYong range on display as well along with the REVA NXR. The Navistar range of trucks were displayed too. From the Mahindra stable was the Xylo, Thar, Genio and XUV5OO. One of the XUV5OO was painted in matte-yellow while the internals of the XUV too were on show. The body was cut into half to display the interiors, while the hood and tail gate were finished in fiber to enable show visitors to see what is inside the XUV5OO. The rear tyre and alloy wheel was cut into half to showcase the braking system of the XUV.

The Indian SUV leader, Mahindra & Mahindra issued a recent statement win which it denied about the company having any plans about setting up a manufacturing facility for pick-up trucks in Alabama, United States with the help of Navistar. The main competitors in that segment, Ford and Chrysler recently announced that they are going to pull out of the pick-up truck segment and focus on developing passenger cars. Mahindra, already into making pick-up trucks is likely to capitalize on this opportunity by launching its product portfolio to capture the pickup segment market which made the rumour even stronger to believe.

“There have been reports in certain quarters of media and online space stating that Navistar USA will produce Mahindra’s T20 and T40 pickups in Alabama, USA in 2012, which are completely baseless & incorrect. If and when there are any material developments, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited will communicate them directly and transparently,” Mahindra said.

Mahindra & Mahindra, a $ 12.5 billion multinational enterprise based out of Mumbai employs 137,000 people in over 100 countries as has its presence in the automotive industry, agribusiness, aerospace, automotive components, consulting services, defense, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel and two wheelers. Navistar was into a business relationship with Mahindra for a long time and one of Mahindra’s sport utility vehicles is a direct descendant of an SUV that used to be sold by Navistar during the 60’s and 70’s. The duo got into a formal joint venture in the year 2005. Meanwhile, it seems that the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) which is influential in and around Chicago (where Navistar is based) is telling all the manufacturers and component suppliers to think before doing business in Alabama because of its anti-immigrant laws and practices.

Mahindra has revealed its plans for the 2012 Auto Expo. The company will showcase its complete range including vehicles from Mahindra, REVA and Ssangyong stable. Mahindra 2 Wheelers will be present too and so will be Mahindra Navistar heavy vehicles. This will be the first time Ssangyong vehicles will be officially showcased in India. The Rexton and Korando E are the vehicles which Mahindra will showcase from Ssangyong, with their launch scheduled for sometime later in the year. The theme for the Expo for Mahindra will be environment friendly vehicles and hence the company plans to showcase the Verito electric vehicle, which naturally borrows technology from REVA. Also on display will be the Reva NXR which too will be launched in India in 2012. Mahindra will also display the Thar, Xylo, Scorpio and XUV500.

“The Delhi Auto Expo is the perfect platform to showcase Mahindra’s commitment to technological advancements and innovative automotive solutions that are showcased in our gamut of vehicles from two wheelers to heavy trucks. Our eco-friendly vehicles are proof of our commitment to a cleaner environment, fuel efficiency and emphasis on customer satisfaction. Mahindra’s Sustainable Mobility Solutions illustrate our commitment to the research, product development and advancement of the most cutting-edge technologies to bring about a cleaner and greener tomorrow,” Dr Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra, said.

Mahindra & Mahindra, the largest utility vehicle maker of the country is planning to setup an assembly plant in South East Asia as a part of its future target to become a global player in the automotive scenario. The company could be is looking at Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia as prospective countries to setup the plant and it will be coming up in the next few years.

“SEA markets are important, big markets for M&M’s overseas growth and for expanding our global presence. We are at present in talks with various parties and evaluating the various possibilities for setting up base with appropriate business model,” Pravin Shah, chief executive, international operations, automotive and farm equipment sectors, said

Currently Mahindra exports its vehicles to countries like Malaysia and aims to increase its exports in the ASEAN region. The ASEAN countries is a big market when it comes to utility vehicles and currently the market size is more than 7, 00,000 units per annum. For tractors the current market volume is more than 55,000 units. This is the main reason Mahindra is eyeing the ASEAN markets and sees at least 15 to 20% of its total export volumes coming from these countries. In financial year 2010, the company had exported 17,000 units of utility vehicles and pick-ups and around 11,000 units of tractors. In the current fiscal year, the export volumes has grown by 69% in the utility vehicle segment while it has grown by 16% in the tractor segment. The company aims to double its revenue turnover to more than S1 billion by 2013. Apart from India the currently upcoming ASEAN country, the company has assembly plants in Brazil and Egypt also.

With rising fuel prices, the auto makers are bound to shift their focus on the development towards alternative propulsion technologies to power their vehicles of the future. We have already known big companies like GM, Suzuki, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, etc working on technologies like hybrids and electric powered vehicles. We had also seen the Indian utility vehicle manufacturer; Mahindra and Mahindra acquire the sole Indian auto company that produces electric vehicles, Maini Reva to expand its product portfolio in the field of electric vehicles. However, Mahindra is not only focusing on electric technology as is evident from recent news. Mahindra Solar One, the solar business arm of the company is making plans to develop a solar technology which will be used to power the Reva cars.

“We are working on options of how solar can be deployed in automotives. It is in an early stage but we see that as something that will clearly evolve in the future. We look at this (solar) as a potential for hybridisation of cars like Reva,” Vish Palekar, business head (cleantech ventures), Mahindra Partners, said.

Mahindra Solar One is now mulling over the option of either to develop a solar-electric technology or a diesel-electric technology to be deployed in the Reva. The utility vehicle manufacturer holds a stake of over 55% in the company Maini Reva. Mahindra acquired the 55% stake in August 2010. Mr. Palekar also commented that Reva was very much interested in driving standards on green energy automotive technology. The company is very optimistic about the implementation of the solar technology in our everyday cars. Once this technology is developed, Mahindra will look forward to put such technologies in its highly successful models like the Xylo and the Bolero. The company expects to come up with the solar technology by the year 2014.

Goof-ups usually do not happen in the Indian automotive world but this is unusually one of a hilarious kind. Apparently, it seems that Tata Motors has accidentally (or intentionally) showcased Mahindra Maxximo vehicles 140 times in its Annual General Report (AGR) 2010-11. The Mahindra Maxximo van picture appears right under the signature of the Chairman of Tata Motors, Mr. Ratan Tata. It also appears that when a sharp-eyed Team-BHP reader brought this to their notice, the officials replied that its not the Maxximo but the Tata Venture. The Maxximo is a product inclined more to the commercial segment while the Venture is more upmarket and for both commercial and personal use.

The sad part is that Tata Motors is very bad at covering up this goof-up with their replies. Comparing the images of Maxximo and Venture, it can clearly concluded that the picture that appears under the signature of Mr. Ratan Tata is indeed the Maxximo. Look closely at the position and the design of the door handles and you will be able to clearly spot the similarity. On the Maxximo, the sliding door has the door handle on the rear while it is on the front for the Venture. Moreover, the Maxximo’s door handles feature an older, inexpensive design while the Venture’s door handles are of pull type. Tata seems to have noticed this also. So, now the same document is no longer available for download on their official website. The corporate communications people of Tata Motors must be scratching their heads thinking how such an error could creep into such an important document. On the other hand, Mahindra has gained some extra advertising.

The story doesn’t end here. If you happen to visit the company’s service website here, you will clearly see that Tata has used Mahindra’s Verito (or Logan) to explain the areas where the anti-rust coatings would be applied to the customer’s vehicle. The hilarious part is that, not just one or two, but all the parts where the coating is to be applied are shown on the Verito making matters worse. Seeing all this we can onle say, Tata Motors, please look into the matter and rectify these goof-ups at the earliest!!!

Source – Team BHP

Mahindra is the market leader when it comes to producing SUVs. With products like the Scorpio and the recently launched XUV500, they have really captured the Indian SUV loving customers. However, they are up to something very new this time. Say hello to the mini-SUV, a first of its kind of vehicle and perhaps in the world that Mahindra and Mahindra is developing with Ssangyong of Korea. Mahindra acquired Ssangyong Motors, the SUV makers based in Korea last year. The new mini-SUV project is code-named S101. Its also being humorously being called a Nano-SUV by some workers of the Mahindra shop floors. The mini-SUV will have the 1 to 1.2L petrol engines and 1.5L diesel engines. The vehicles are expected to be produced at the Mahindra’s facility at Chakan, near Pune. The model is expected to be launched in 26-28 months in a price bracket of Rs. 3 to 4 lakhs. If the company can really make the car in this price bracket then it would a first of its kind in the world.

Currently, the mini-SUVs of sub-4 metre length on offer are Jeep Wrangler and Nissan Juke. The S101 is the first project jointly being developed by Mahindra and Ssangyong. For the South Korean SUV maker, this is an all new segment and a welcome addition to its product portfolio. The S101 project is at the styling and customer research stage and techno-commercial viability has to be established. Moreover, Mahindra has already created a team of over 100 engineers who are looking after the different aspects like styling, body design, suspension and other parameters.

Petrol prices maybe skyrocketing very high yet this has not deterred any OEM to pursue working on petrol engines. The latest news on this is from the Mahindra stable where a company official close to the development has stated that compact petrol engines are in the works. The company is planning to shift its focus from the diesel powertrains that has dominated all the products of the utility vehicle major. The development is happening in tandem with Ssangyong with a high percentage of sharing of platforms. Mahindra acquired the Korean car maker Ssangyong earlier this year. Mahindra is developing around three new platforms with Ssangyong, of which the first – for a compact vehicle, is in more advanced stages. This is all part of the planning to cut down costs by having a joint platform development. This will also lead to new models for both the brands.

“We can use petrol engines from Ssangyong (larger capacities). We’re developing smaller petrol engines as well of around 1 and 1.2-liter capacities. But this development is a three-year cycle, so it will take some time. In all, we’re jointly working on 2-3 platforms, but this one is in advanced stages,” a Mahindra official said.

Also coming up is the compact Xylo of sub 4-meter length, a new redesigned Verito with a sub 4-meter variant and the Mahindra Reva NXR electric car. Though the company owns almost 60% of the market share of the larger utility vehicle space, these new models with help gain a good foothold in the compact car segment which makes over 70 % of the total passenger car market.