Mahindra Reva set for e2o’s European, Sri Lankan drive

Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles, the electric car manufacturing arm of Mahindra & Mahindra, will enter the European markets — particularly the UK and Norway— by the end of this year with its e2o model, the automatic electric car.

Buoyed by an impressive response from its recent entry into Nepal about four months ago and Bhutan (a week ago), the company is now looking at other countries which offer incentives for electric mobility, said Chetan Maini, founder and CEO, Mahindra Reva Electric.


He said: “We are working on additional features like airbags, ABS, power steering and enhanced battery for e2o to enter the European markets. We have identified the UK and Norway and will enter these markets by year-end.”

Maini added: “Both the UK and Norway offer huge incentives for electric vehicles. In particular, Norway has zero-import duty to promote e-vehicle concept. Nearly 1,500 Reva electric cars are plying in the UK while nearly 500 cars were sold in Norway (earlier Reva models). Given the huge promotion to green concept and our years of presence in these two countries, its easier for us to enter with the e2o.”


Similarly, the company is looking at entering Sri Lanka, which, too, offers incentives for electric vehicles. “We have exported around 30 e2os to Nepal and Bhutan till now and


we keep getting more orders. Bhutan has just opened its market for electric vehicles only and we have the first mover advantage in the 70,000 cars per annum market,” he added.  

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Mahindra launches Arjun CRDE Multi Application Tractor (MAT) in India

Since Mahindra is the largest tractor maker on the country. To maintain its lead over competitors, Mahindra keeps adding new technology to its tractors. The latest technology to be added to a Mahindra tractor is common rail direct injection engine technology that is present on most modern turbo diesel cars sold in India.

The Indian company has introduced the CRDE technology in the Arjun 605 Multi Application Tractor. The tractor’s price will be revealed shortly. A few years back, Mahindra was the first company in India to launch the CRDE technology to mini pick up trucks. The Mahindra Maxximo is the first mini pick up truck in India to feature CRDE diesel technology and now even the Tata Ace has a DICOR diesel engine, Tata’s name for CRDE technology.

The Arjun 605 MAT is the first tractor in India to feature the CRDE technology. The Arjun 605 MAT is powered by a 3,192cc-4 cylinder diesel engine that pumps out 60 Bhp at 2,100 rpm. Tractors are not about power but all about torque. The 3.2 liter diesel engine with CRDE technology produces a peak torque of 212 Nm between 1150 and 1400 rpm.


By giving the Arjun 605 a CRDE diesel engine, Mahindra seeks to improve both power and fuel efficiency of this tractor. Also, lower emissions and lower noise are the other benefits of the CRDE technology. The other significant features on the Mahindra Arjun 605 MAT are,


Mahindra also makes more powerful tractors in the 60-85 HP class. Mahindra is also a big exporter of tractors to countries around the world. The Indian company is one of the top tractor makers in the world.

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M&M to invest in joint venture for launching new variants

Mahindra and Mahindra, which bought out its foreign partner Navistar's stake in the struggling commercial vehicle joint venture, said it will invest more in the venture which will eventually become a subsidiary. The proposed investment is for rolling out new variants of trucks, on exports and others. Besides, the company has stated that if it decides to expand the product portfolio further, then it may look at roping a new partner.

On Tuesday, the automajor M&M announced that it has acquired 49 per cent from its US joint venture partner Navistar for around Rs 175 crore. Thirty months since the first product was rolled out by the JV partners.

Speaking to Business Standard at the Mahindra Research Valley, the largest research centre in the automobile industry which houses around 2,500 people, at the Mahindra World City, on the outskirts of Chennai, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) president (automotive) Pawan Goenka said that Navistar’s stake in the JV which was valued at Rs 175 crore, which was less than the investment in the JV which was about Rs 510 crore.

“The JV was losing money and will continue to do so for sometime, and that’s why the valuation was lower,” he explained.


Asked when Mahindra Navistar will breakeven, he said it could happen when it touched sales volumes of 800-900 units a month compared to 200 units now.


He added that if the industry does well, then the breakeven could happen quickly. Unfortunately, the industry is in significant downturn with a 24 per cent contraction in the first eight months of the current fiscal and the remaining four months doesn’t look positive.


“We don’t see a turnaround happening in fiscal 2012 and 2013. It may happen in fiscal 2014. Once it happens, we expect an increase in our volumes,” said Goenka.


When asked if there is any problem in the portfolio, he said, “I don’t think so. What we are lacking is the market. Customers are not willing to experiment with the new brand, since they are struggling for their survival,” said Goenka. He noted that around 250,000 used trucks are not sold in the country.

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Quanto, Mahindra’s next

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) is yet to meet the demands of its latest SUV—XUV 500—as it is always overbooked for several months. But its success has inspired the company quiet enough to launch another SUV in India. Quanto—the new compact SUV—will be launched in the second half of September. Though pictures of the car are not available, it will be the smallest SUV from Mahindra.

Quanto is indigenously designed and developed by M&M and is smartly packaged in sub-4 metre length on the proven Ingenio platform that it shares with the popular MUV, Xylo.


Mahindra coined the name Quanto with the aim of conveying a sense of space and power inherent in the product. Derived from the word ‘Quantum', the name has an association with the product's promise—more space, more power, more seats and superior performance. Quanto will have the toughest and most rugged DNA of Mahindra SUVs, thus offering a distinctive advantage over hatchbacks and sedans.

Quanto was innovated after taking into account a lot of customer feedback and research at its various stages of development. These insights have helped in fine-tuning the product to give a strong value proposition to customers in terms of design, performance and features.


Dr. Pawan Goenka, president of automotive & farm equipment sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd says, “Customer centric Innovation has always been at the heart of any product development at the Mahindra Group. With the Quanto, Mahindra is aiming to fill demand in the Indian automotive market for a versatile and compact SUV. We are confident that with its unique value proposition, the Quanto will carve out a segment for itself in the market.” Quanto is targeted at young urban travelers who are otherwise looking for premium diesel hatchbacks or entry-level diesel sedans. There is no official announcement about the pricing, but, it is expected to be anywhere between Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh.

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Mahindra & Mahindra's compact SUV 'Quanto' to be launched in September

MUMBAI: India's largest utility vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra has christened its compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) as 'Quanto', which will hit the market in the second half of September 2012. At a sub-4 meter length, the Quanto will be the smallest SUV in Mahindra's product portfolio, which is aimed at the buyers of diesel hatchback and entry level sedan customers.

Based on the 'Ingenio' platform, Quanto will be a sub-4 metre SUV, which will be powered by 1.5 litre diesel engine, thereby it will enjoy the excise duty of small cars. While, M&M has not revealed the prices yet, the SUV is likely to be priced between Rs 5.5-7 lakh. The launch comes at a time, when a lot of car buyers are graduating from small car to SUVs instead of sedans and the Quanto will also try to win away some of the prospective hatchback customers.

Pawan Goenka, president, automotive & farm equipment sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra said, "With the Quanto, Mahindra is aiming to fill a need gap in the Indian automotive market for a versatile and compact SUV. We are confident that with its unique value proposition, the Quanto will carve out a segment for itself in the market. We expect the Quanto to offer an exciting upgrade at a premium to customers who are otherwise looking for premium diesel hatchbacks or entry level diesel sedans."

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Mahindra Satyam, Microsoft team up for motor vehicle solution

Mahindra Satyam has teamed up with Microsoft to modernise business operations of Department of Motor Vehicles (New Jersey) by deploying Motor Vehicle Enterprise Solution (MOVES).


This solution, which is based on the latter’s Dynamics CRM platform, will enable DMV agencies to improve service to licensed drivers and vehicle owners.


“MOVES addresses the needs of financially constrained State and local Governments. It will better customer experience at Department of Motor Vehicles, while reducing the risk of implementation,” Arvind Malhotra, Senior Vice-President (Strategic Accounts) of Mahindra Satyam, said.


The Hyderabad-based firm will showcase MOVES at AAMVA 2012 annual international conference which is being held at Charleston (North Carolina, the US) on August 20 and 21.


“The solution uses built-in features to get a complete view of citizen relationships and a consolidated view of all business functions. It will also reduce training time by using a familiar user interface that looks and acts like Microsoft Office,” he said here in a statement.


Andy Pitman, a Director in Microsoft’s Public Sector Industry Solutions organisation, said the Government IT solutions needed to provide responsive services to citizens while balancing the financial realities of State and local Governments. 

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