Mahindra AXE army vehicle

6 September, 2007

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has announced the launch of Axe its army off-roader model. The company plans to sell the vehicle to the armed forces
of India and Israeli. M&M is expected to invest close to $7 million in developing Axe.

According to industry reports, the Axe is being tested by the Israeli Army and will soon be tested by the Indian Army as well. M&M plans to begin commercial production of the vehicle as soon as the it receives the order from the Army.

However, the company has clarified that it is not at all thinking of a civilian version of Axe. The company is sourcing the engine for Axe from an Israeli
firm and has no plans to develop its own engine for the off-roader. The Mahindras will continue to source the engine and as of now has no plans to put in their own engine.

The Mahindras, who are looking at a possible United States foray by 2009, said that M&M sales, including that of Logan, has grown 37 per cent in April-August 2007. The momentum is expected to be maintained during the remaining part of the fiscal, it is believed. It has been reported that the Indian automobile industry’s growth in the second half would continue at 10-12 per cent and M&M expects itself to continue growing at about the industry average.