Mahindra plant and engineering ops comes to MI, electric bikes planned

Depending on who you speak to, India's Mahindra & Mahindra might be best known in the States for the six-year saga of huge hopes and dashed dreams embodied in a small, diesel pickup truck, as a tractor maker pushing its way into a US market ruled by John Deere and Kubota, as the owner of Ssangyong, as one of the companies that tried to buy Aston Martin or as an automotive engineering firm providing product development services to almost every carmaker out there. It's that last division that gets headlines now, Mahindra announcing an expansion of its facilities in Troy, Michigan on top of the news that it's setting up a factory in Ann Arbor, Michigan to build its GenZe scooter.

The Mahindra North American Technical Center (MNATC) is an outgrowth of the first tech center set up by Mahindra Engineering Services (MES) in 2012, now called Tech Mahindra. Mahindra Engineering is - obviously - the contract engineering services arm that serves a variety of industries, including transportation companies from Navistar to McLaren to Seat. Rick Haas, the president and COO of the MNATC, told Autoblog that he had five subject matter experts working out of the Tech Mahindra building doing product development for Mahindra in Chennai, India. Those experts weren't involved with Tech Mahindra, simply "squatting" in the building while they worked on products in the home market. About a year later it was deemed that the product development team "was exceeding our expectations, [so] we decided to turn this small group into a proper PD team and start full vehicle Product Development out of the Detroit area."

Those five engineers have moved into their new building and are now, Haas said, "up to 42 heads, on our way to about 100 this year, and more after that as we build a proper automotive PD center here to support the global aspirations of Mahindra in our auto business worldwide." They'll be "100% focused on supporting Mahindra's OEM auto business," supporting the engineering team in Chennai, India. "No work will ever be done for other companies" out of the MNATC, Haas said.

The Ann Arbor facility will build the GenZe, an electric scooter with a 30-mile-per-hour top speed and a price tag of $3,000. The plant is scheduled to manufacture 9,000 scooters per year, with the ability to increase that to 20,000 per year if sales take off. They will be sold direct in California, Florida, Oregon and Virginia, and through dealers in other states.
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India's Mahindra Working on Dacia Logan Hatchback That's Not a Sandero!

The Indian government offers tax benefits for cars that are shorter than than four meters. There are, of course, bespoke models from Maruti Suzuki and Tata that look just fine to us, but Mahindra decided to chop the boot off the Verito sedan and make it shorter. Yes, instead of asking Renault for the Dacia Sandero, they made their own version.

The car will be called the Verito CS. From the front, it will look the same as the Verito sedan, which in turn looks like the previous generation Logan with a stupid grille.

The back of the car will be more notchback than hatchback. The third box of the car looks really impractical, doe to the fact that the windshield is so rakish. This is still a camouflaged test mule, and it looks like just that: an ugly mule.

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Saab to hire 200 engineers, might build gas cars with Mahindra

The brand formerly known as Saab is still intent on teaching The Little Engine That Could a few ticks about persistence. We say "formerly known" because it turns out that National Electric Vehicle Swedent (NEVS), the Sino-Japanese investment consortium that just bought the majority of Saab's assets, minus Saab Automobile Parts AB, may not actually own the rights to the Saab brand name. According to a report in Di.se via Saabs United, NEVS will need to negotiate with Scania and the Swedish aerospace and defense group, Saab AB, for the right to name its forthcoming electric car the Saab 9-3.

NEVS is hiring 200 engineers now to work on its electric car program, and reports are that it will hire more as it gets closer to the 2014 launch. It will be based on the current (read: ancient) 9-3, and we hope NEVS is succeeds in getting the naming rights, because the NEVS 9-3 just doesn't have the same ring. NEVS will likely target China as the model's main market.

However, it's rumors of their second negotiating ploy that we're really rooting for: to work with Mahinda & Mahindra, the Indian company once in the running for Saab's assets, develop a petrol-powered 9-3 on the next-generation Phoenix platform, based on Jason Castriota's design.

NEVS is also said to be planning new models "based on Japanese technology," yet with just under $1 billion U.S. committed to the electric program, the Di.se report says NEVS wants to have other products to generate revenue. A conventionally powered gasoline-engined car could be the answer. There only connection between Saab AB and Mahindra appears to be that India is one of Saab's largest markets and Mahindra is Indian. Separately, Mahindra could develop the car and provide small, "low carbon output" engines. It's tenuous, which characterizes just about everything that happens with Saab these days, but perhaps NEVS sees it as enough of a lure for everyone involved to make it worth the attempt.

The amount of speculation here makes the chances of a Phoenix-based 9-3 too thin to even call slim, but we won't bet against it, if only because one was quite far along in development under the company's previous owners. And besides, we'd really like to see it happen. 

via: In Auto News, Saabs United

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Would-be U.S. Mahindra dealers file suit

In 2004, Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra began courting U.S. auto dealers to build a network of outlets for its trucks and SUVs. Eventually, the company had accumulated $9.5 million in fees from prospective dealers itching to sell Mahindra-branded vehicles.

Mahindra promised to have trucks for sale in the U.S. by 2008 and SUVs by 2009. Fast-forward to 2012, and there are still no Mahindras for sale in the U.S.

Now, Miami-based law firm of Diaz Reus & Targ has stepped in to represent dealers in New Hampshire, Florida, California, New Jersey and Washington in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

"Mahindra told the dealers that its light trucks and SUVs were ready for delivery to the U.S. market," maintains Diaz Reus in a press release. "However, Mahindra intentionally delayed certification of its vehicles after obtaining the dealership fees and trade secrets, and began pursuing other partners in the U.S. and elsewhere in clear violation of their commitments."

"Through their false representations, the defendants lured the U.S. dealers into making investments and promoting Mahindra's brand name," said Diaz. "Mahindra is going to learn that trying to outsmart the dealers was a serious mistake, as we will aggressively seek justice for our clients."

This is not the first lawsuit tied to Mahindra's fortunes in the States. Last year, Global Vehicles USA, the firm looking to be the brand's distributor in the U.S., lost a British arbitration ruling that effectively squelched any hopes of bringing the TR20 and TR40 pickups to this market any time soon.

U.S. Automobile Dealers Sue Indian Truck Manufacturer For Fraud And Conspiracy

ATLANTA, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. automobile dealers from across the country filed a lawsuit yesterday accusing the Indian truck manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra, Ltd. and its U.S. counterpart of fraud, misrepresentation, and conspiracy. The lawsuit alleges that Mahindra duped hundreds of U.S. auto dealers and walked away with more than $60 million in cash and trade secrets. Then Mahindra simply reneged on its promises, according to attorney Michael Diaz, the managing partner of Miami-based Diaz Reus & Targ, who leads the plaintiffs' legal team of Gary Davidson, Brant Hadaway, Carlos Gonzalez and Sumeet Chugani.

"Mahindra told the dealers that its light trucks and SUVs were ready for delivery to the U.S. market," said Diaz. "However, Mahindra intentionally delayed certification of its vehicles after obtaining the dealership fees and trade secrets, and began pursuing other partners in the U.S. and elsewhere in clear violation of their commitments."

The mass tort lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta (#KH199170-3) on June 4, 2012 against Mahindra & Mahindra, Ltd, and Mahindra USA, Inc. by dealerships in New Hampshire, Florida, California, New Jersey, and Washington. Dealers across the country paid initial dealership fees, undertook marketing on Mahindra's behalf, built Mahindra showrooms, display platforms and showcases, and hired additional personnel, all at Mahindra's urging, according to the lawsuit.

"Through their false representations, the defendants lured the U.S. dealers into making investments and promoting Mahindra's brand name," said Diaz. "Mahindra is going to learn that trying to outsmart the dealers was a serious mistake, as we will aggressively seek justice for our clients."

According to the lawsuit, Mahindra began laying the groundwork to enter the U.S. market and build a nationwide dealer network in 2004. In a high-profile move to court the U.S. dealers, Arun Jaura, a senior Mahindra executive, attended an Atlanta automotive show in 2007 where he repeatedly proclaimed, "I love America!"

At that show, which was attended by about 400 U.S. dealers, Mahindra executives presented promotional videos that showcased its vehicles' durability, purportedly showing them being driven on different terrains. Jaura also provided a set time-line for introducing Mahindra's four-door truck to the U.S. market at the end of 2008, and Mahindra's two-door truck and SUV in the third quarter of 2009.

Mahindra's pitch was highly successful. Ultimately, it obtained $9.5 million in fees from the dealers, according to the lawsuit. Through a barrage of press releases, sales pitches, advertisements, and news articles orchestrated by Mahindra, Jaura's comments were subsequently used to entice more U.S. dealers to agree to carry Mahindra's vehicles.

Over the next two years, Mahindra continued to reassure the U.S. dealers that its certification process was on target, while in fact it was delaying submitting its documentation to regulators as a pretext for terminating its agreements, Diaz added.

"Mahindra repeatedly failed to live up to its obligations," Diaz explained. "Now, after spending millions of dollars on behalf of Mahindra, the U.S. dealers have nothing to show for their time and energy other than a series of false promises."

Via: Diaz Reus & Targ

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