Dougster

TOLEDO - March 7, 2008 - Stephen Taylor sees a spot for Mahindra SUVs and small pickups between his Cadillac and Kia dealerships.

Taylor, who has family ties to the legendary Fisher Body brothers through his wife, is one of 300 dealers to sign up to become a Mahindra dealer as the India-based truck maker plans to expand into the U.S. market next year.

Taylor plans to build an 8,000-square-foot facility between his Kia and Cadillac dealerships near U.S.-23 and expects the diesel vehicles will find a spot in the market among small-business owners and young people.

"I think it will be a great niche kind of market -- the less-expensive Hummer kind of a market," he said.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.'s U.S. distributor, Global Vehicles, wants to have 400 dealers by the end of the year and plans to begin selling in June 2009 with the goal of moving 45,000 vehicles in the first 12 months.

"We're not a luxury franchise, but we consider ourselves to be one day in the future a luxury franchise. That's what Mr. Mahindra wants," Global Vehicles CEO John Perez told the Free Press. "He told me, 'John, we're not going to cut any corners to come to the United States and we don't want you or any of your dealers to cut any corners. I want this franchise to one day to be as good or better than Land Rover.' " (That luxury SUV brand is being sold, along with Jaguar, by Ford Motor Co. to Tata Motors, another Indian automaker.)

Global Vehicles said in February that the two-door and four-door Mahindra pickups will be assembled in Ohio, in a deal that had not been finalized with a third-party assembler.

Perez declined to name the assembler. The local assembly effort is part of Mahindra's way of avoiding a 25% tariff on the importation of pickups.
Xavier Beguiristain, Global Vehicles vice president of marketing, said they will begin working on a marketing campaign to roll out for the vehicle launch. He expects their efforts to be grassroots.

Dealers had to spend $195,000 for the franchise, Perez said, adding that about 10% of the dealers plan to open stand-alone operations.

"We want to do everything completely different than everybody else," Perez said. "I am not going to spend a lot of money on TV commercials. That doesn't bring customers to the showroom floor anymore. We've got to find another way to bring them."

Taylor was impressed by Mahindra's quality. Mahindra flew him and other dealers to India last spring to see its operations. "It's most impressive," Taylor said. "They lined up gasoline and diesel engines, oh, maybe, 10 yards away from us, and turned them on and asked us 'Which one is the gas and which one is the diesel?' You really couldn't tell."

They rode in the vehicles and suggested changes to Mahindra engineers to make the vehicles more appealing to U.S. consumers, such as adding cupholders, Taylor said.

The arrival of a new small pickup and SUV to the U.S. auto market comes at a tough time. U.S. sales are down as the country's economy stumbles.

"I think it is going to be quite challenging," said Paul Melville, a partner with the Grant Thornton global automotive practice.

Melville noted that Mahindra is launching a pickup at the same time established automakers in the United States have launched or are launching new trucks and when construction companies are feeling the economic pinch and not buying new work trucks.

But he added that Mahindra has the size and patience to see it through.

"You can list all of these challenges, but the one thing that you can say about Mahindra ... is that nothing like this ever fazes them," Melville said. "While we sit here with a Western culture and say this all sounds very difficult, to them, they are just going to do it. I have no doubt they will do it."

bandit67

Does this mean that Mahindra will have the first small diesel pickups in the US market? If they manage to do that, then maybe the current mfrs deserve to keep losing business.

It will be interesting to see how Mahindra deals with the EPA regs that are causing so many issues, both mechanical and financial, for the current players.

KUBOTA B3030 with R4s, fender mount FEL joystick, 40 amp alternator, block heater, loaded rears, LA403 w/60" bucket, BH75 w/12" bucket, pin-type QA, pallet forks, & Landpride RB2572, Bro-Tek thumb.
Old attachments: Midwest LR2072 rake w/gauge wheels, Rhino SE4 rotary cutter, 3pt trailer receiver.

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Dougster

Believe me... you aren't the only one wondering that! Could Mahindra actually be smarter than Honda???

And it does appear that the introduction date has already been moved back at least twice. It would not surprise me if there is further schedule slippage.

Dougster

Attached Images

Mahindra Pickup Truck.jpg (30.1 KB, 5 views)

Mickey

Not sure what you had in mind but I know Nissan use to offer their pickups with a diesel and think the same for VW when they offered a small pickup.

With the cost of fuel now days, I think we're going to see a lot more smaller diesel powered vehicles in the States in the future.

1970 Bolens 1257 w/tiller
2005 Cub 3204 48" deck
Yanmar Fx24D
5' Howse rotary mower
RSB 1300 Yanmar tiller

Dougster

I think Bandit67 was referring to the modern (i.e., post emissions standard tightening) incarnation of diesel engines in the automotive/small truck category. To the best of my knowledge, only one 2008 car... a VW, I believe... is currently offered in the USA with a diesel engine option.

Dougster

SkunkWerX

I just saw diesel at the pump go to $3.89 a gallon, TODAY!

Diesel and Number #2 fuel oil supplies/ costs/prices were always joined at the hip. Now they are not. Each will price based on it's own market.

At the rate diesel is going, will it be the correct fuel for small vehicles that do not need diesels traditional low end power and torque?? it's a question, I don't know the answer?

I am getting ready to make my first batch of biodiesel, sometime this month.

Biodiesel is how they can meet the strict EPA regs. It burns super clean.
Problem will be supply. Eveything I read shows it will be used more as an additive. Added at just a 2% mix into petro-diesel the Bioiesel provides the much needed lubricity lost as the sulpher content is being phased out.

Again, it will be a matter of how much they can produce. I don't think they can make enough, overall, to fulfill the need in the market.

Kubota BX2350 and more attachments than I have sense to operate.

Mickey

SW, how you going about making your biodiesel? Virgin seed oil or recycled veggie oil?

Have a Co up in Portland selling oil seed presses for making your own biodiesel. Now if you could just buy oil seed at the right price including the sale of the pressed seed for animal feed.

Local truck station carries biodiesel but price is on the North side of $4/gal.

1970 Bolens 1257 w/tiller
2005 Cub 3204 48" deck
Yanmar Fx24D
5' Howse rotary mower
RSB 1300 Yanmar tiller