Quote Of The Day: The Case Of The Missing Mahindras Edition

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

When something that sounded too good to be true (say a cheap, compact, diesel-powered pickup) keeps getting delayed, you eventually just make your peace with the whole “too good to be true” part. That’s the only explanation for our recent lapse in Mahindra coverage: the news is depressing enough as it is. We last updated our Mahindra tag back in December, with news that a “Middle Spring” launch would be the latest of several delays for the Indian pickup venture. A news clipping [ PDF] touting a March launch is still available at the Mahindra USA website. The latest from an actual human being? Mahindra’s US distributor John Perez tells Automotive News [sub]:

I don’t want to speculate anymore

Ruh Roh!

The president of Global Vehicles is standing by his Indian manufacturers, and says he can wait for (gulp) up to two more years.

It’s a battle with Mahindra to get information from them. It’s not because they don’t have the information. It’s the culture. They don’t like to make announcements. I argue with them all the time about this issue. I say, “Guys, give the dealers transparency. Tell them step by step where we are.” I’ve told them, “The credibility is going to go away if you don’t step forward and tell the dealers where we are.” But they say they don’t like to announce anything until it’s done

So far there’s been no official announcement of anything related to EPA certification, except that testing is finished and certification documents will be filed “soon.” With 30 days processing time, and 30 to 60 days to ship pickups from India still facing the venture, Mahindra will be lucky to start selling trucks by the end of the summer. Unless there’s another delay, of course.
Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Wp8thsub Wp8thsub on May 13, 2010

    Ha! The road in the cheesy photochop ad is a couple miles from my house. As far as looks go, given the number of ugly vehicles that sell in significant volumes these days (Camry, Accord, did I mention Camry...) the styling may not put off as many customers as the B&B might at first think. I was discussing small trucks with some guys who like such things but don't follow the industry too closely, and mentioned M&M looking at selling these trucks. The reaction was pretty positive - one fellow had experience with M&M's tractors and expressed interest on a truck for his farm based on that alone. The others echoed the typical frustrations with the current small-ish trucks (the geriatric Ranger design, Tacoma bloat, etc.) and thus liked the idea of a new player in the market. Whether any of them would actually make such a purchase is of course open to speculation, but there could be a real opportunity for M&M to sell to farmers and ranchers. Something else that could factor into sales is the credit certain taxpayers get for off-highway use of diesel fuel. That could sway some buyers looking to write off a portion of the ownership expense.

    • Ronnie Schreiber Ronnie Schreiber on May 13, 2010

      I wouldn't be surprised if some of the 300+ dealers that Global Vehicles has signed up are existing Mahindra tractor dealers. Farm equipment gets pretty severe use so someone happy with a Mahindra tractor is most likely going to look favorably at a Mahindra work truck.

  • Maximus Maximus on May 14, 2010

    Yes Mahindra has been quiet, Mr. Perez did the last talking, but I expect Mahindra to begin talking soon about the launch… an announcement can’t be too far down the line. And when that happens, it will be a good day for all truckers waiting for a fuel efficient, diesel compact workhorse.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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