Nearly a year after we last heard from Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra, the maker of small, diesel-powered trucks is finally preparing its big launch in America, and it's using old Chrysler dealerships to do it.
Last August, Mahindra announced that it was delaying the U.S. launch of its light trucks for six months to get more real-world testing done. At that time, though, Mahindra wasn't even planning on submitting its clean-diesel engines for EPA certification until January, so it's no surprise we haven't seen any on the road yet. The unknown truck-maker was also going to need a distribution network and had just begun setting one up with its U.S. distributor, Global Vehicles USA out of Alpharetta, Georgia. With the sudden closure of nearly 800 Chrysler dealerships in the past month, Mahindra has found a golden opportunity to expand its tiny dealer network in anticipation of the launch of its trucks this fall.
"One door closes, and another one opens," said Gus Russo, who owns a former Chrysler-Jeep dealership in Detroit. "What really attracted me is that every engine they have is a clean-burning diesel. You can fill up in Detroit and drive to New York City before you have to fill up again."
According to Global Vehicles USA, Mahindra wants to sell 45,000 of its trucks in their first year, an ambitious goal for sure. The trucks will be imported from India for the first six months, then built by a contract manufacturer in the U.S. after that. The as-yet-unnamed trucks will all be powered by the same 2.2L diesel engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. There are no plans currently for gasoline-powered models. Mahindra has lined up a network of about 300 dealers throughout the U.S. to sell its trucks and may pick up more as GM and Chrysler continue to close their dealers.
A year after the debut of its truck, Mahindra plans to introduce an SUV priced in the $13,000 to $15,000 range. Like the trucks, the SUV will also be powered exclusively by Mahindra's 2.2L diesel with its six-speed automatic transmission. The SUV is believed to be the Mahindra & Mahindra Scorpio shown at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress last year, and Mahindra would like to move about 10,000 of them per year.
Source: The Detroit Free Press