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i . ,•/ BY: Wilhelm Lutjeharms V WilhelmL_CARmag A visit to Mahindra's Indian base

i reveals how this ambitious company is readying itself to take on the world. And

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56 CAR JUNE 2016 CARmag.co.za feature

SCHULER 5 Entrance to Mahindra Research Valley, the hub ofits R&D activities. ... A recentpurchase, a state-of-the-art Schuler panelpress. £491!! An example of a ladder-frame chassis,

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T’S 43 degrees Cel¬ Mahindra Research Valley (MRV), office. It’s the hub of a Mahindra including infotainment systems sius, with the humid¬ it’s the company's main research- network that sees offices and and how these integrate into I ity factor sitting at and-development centre and it’s industry partners in Detroit, various vehicle ranges. There’s around 60%. To step teeming with engineers and test , United Kingdom, Spain, also a lab that specialises in NVH out of our air-conditioned build¬ drivers carrying out their daily South Korea and Mumbai (noise, vibration and harshness), ing is to step into an oven, but duties as if being slowly roasted streaming data and information another in audio-system sound step into the furnace we must. is an accepted part of the deal. back to MRV’s engineers. quality and even a lab that evalu¬ We're here, a couple of hours’ MRV is a sprawling complex One building, for example, is ates the endurance and fatigue drive north of Chennai, , that includes several laboratories, dedicated to the electronic devel- resistance of various safety com¬ to have a closer look at one of a test track, a technical academy, opment needed for the corn- ponents and chassis parts. Mahindra's test facilities. Called several workshops and a design pany's current and future , Our quick walk-through also

WHAT'S 0" COMING *«sr*fr- 0 fiPI TOSA? Starting * • this month, KUV100 XUV500 THAR SCORPIO TUV300 Mahindra will launch a This compact is Currently the company's This diesel-engined Jeep The new-generation A medium-sized SUV the most significant model bestselling passenger look-alike will be launched Scorpio 4x4 will will range of new SUV also crossover complete and will be offered in both car in South Africa, this later this year. Visit be coming. this extensive 2016 and updated petrol and turbodiesel SUV will get a six-speed CARmag.co.za for launch schedule. models. derivatives (read our first automatic . a driving impression drive on page 54). from India.

CARmag.co.za JUNE 2016 CAR 57 AT//® m A Mahindra XUV500 SUV undergoing a door-slamming test. 4 An XUV500 i •been driven over “ cobblestones aspart & ofits endurance and fV' : rattle tests. ft A camouflaged — • ' •KUVIOO subjected to % cold-weather testing. Incline testing of •the KUVIOO at $ Mahindra's facility. A previous- generation Scorpio y a SUVbeing assessed i V on a rolling road.

stops at the crash-test lab where that Mahindra is dedicated to i \ components undergo brutal the in-house development of as * assessments, but it's the next much of its technology as possi¬ mr tt 1 building that is most impressive ble. In some instances, Mahindra z \ E of all. It's here that Mahindra’s procures products from special¬ new engines are put through ists (some transmissions come their paces and before us is from Japan), but on the whole its an array of test rigs with each products are home-grown. m engine running through different And that strategy is paying cycles. T\vo engineers man each off. Mahindra leads the way in rig, studiously analysing data and Indian automotive manufactur¬ tweaking the powerplants. ing. It's something the CAR team What is clear from all this is has noted, having driven most

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58 CAR JUNE 2016 CARmag.co.za feature

10 THINGS YOUMAYNOT of its products, and this visit to with a different DNA. But, we HAVE Chennai has only strengthened have taken the first steps to work KNOWNABOUTMAHINDRA this opinion. together, starting with engines In some areas, Mahindra is and transmissions. A few days ahead of the international curve ago, we signed a contract to It’s the largest with, for example, software that jointly develop a 1,5-litre turbo¬ tractor producer allows technicians to access a charged .” in the world. vehicle's diagnostics system Until now, Mahindra's focus ®#1 via a smartphone. This, says has clearly been on its local Mahindra, is a world first and market: 92% of its vehicle sales #2 does away with the need to use are in India. But that’s about Tech a laptop. In the near future, this to change. The acquisition of mahindra IT PURCHASED technology will also allow SsangYong may have extended - THE REVERED Mahindra Racing is one of only 10 teams and owners to detect problems with its footprint into South Korea, ITALIAN the only Indian team - to compete in the FIA their car before taking it to but Mahindra has plans far DESIGN AND Formula E Championship. It was also the first a dealership. beyond this small Eastern pen¬ STYLING HOUSE Indian team to participate in the FIM MotoGP The next stop on our Indian insula. Mahindra South Africa’s PININFARINA World Motorcycle Racing Championship series itinerary was Mumbai, where CEO, Sanjoy Gupta, makes that IN DECEMBER in 2011 and the Italian National Motorcycle we had a closer look at one of very clear: “South Africa, but 2015. Racing Championship (CIV) in 2012. Mahindra's latest, and largest, especially Africa, is the next production plants. It’s another frontier. Africa has the size impressive facility, especially and the population for growth compared with some of the and development. The Euro¬ #4 rather antiquated plants the pean market, and the USA to an MAHINDRA B CAR team has seen on visits to extent, is saturated. When you MAHINDRA IS a country that is fast growing in want to head into Africa, you MADE UP OF OVER stature as a major player in the need to start in South Africa.” 120INDIVIDUAL automotive industry. In terms of One thing is crystal clear: COMPANIES. sophistication, Mahindra's plant Mahindra is in South Africa to competes with those of some of stay. As a fledgling company the best high-end brands from here, it weathered our economic Europe, the United States and the downturn of the late-2000s #6 IN THE LAST FISCAL Far East. without pulling out of the market YEAR, MAHINDRA Later on in the day, Dr Pawan and now has significant plans. SOLD 3 411 VEHICLES Goenka, the group president Dr Goenka candidly spoke Indian light-commercial- ys\\1 IN SOUTH AFRICA. of the automotive and farm about discussions he’s had with vehicle market with a 69% H ALTHOUGH MOSTLY sectors, shared insights into the South African Government market share and a 39% COMMERCIAL, Mahindra's successes and future regarding selling electric vehicles share the SUV THAT WAS A 4% plans. Among these is the 2011 locally. It would largely depend, segment, INCREASE ON THE purchase of a majority stake in he said, on a government policy 69% PREVIOUS YEAR. the South Korean automotive that would incentivise the selling manufacturer SsangYong Motor of these vehicles. Company. At the time, SsangYong Incidentally, on that same #7 In the last year, Mahindra was close to bankruptcy, but day, the chairman of the Ma¬ launched 10 new vehicles in since then, thanks to significant hindra group and grandson of India, a record for the company. investment in the development the founder, Anand Mahindra. of new products, it has turned launched the company's e2o the corner and should break electric car in London. even this year. What was clear from our Mahindra’s stake in brief visit to its home base is #9 SsangYong The company means there will be close col¬ that Mahindra looks set to sig¬ also has laboration between these two nificantly increase its interna¬ © companies in the future: "There tional presence. The rise of the aviation, are plans to share a modular South Korean automotive marine and platform. However, it is not that brands has provided the real-estate © blue easy. There are different require¬ print and the purchase of IT’S THE SOLE divisions. ments for each brand one is an SsangYong is a clear indication COMPANY © - SELLING Indian brand with a certain DNA that Mahindra is eyeing a similar ELECTRIC Car and the other a Korean brand trajectory. VEHICLES IN #10 Mahindra INDIA. has been selling cars in South Africa for 12 years.

CARmag.co.za JUNE 2016 CAR 59