M&M firm on US plans

Recession or not, utility vehicle major Mahindra and Mahindra is adamant on making its foray into the US market. The company has said that plans for the US market are on track as scheduled.

With this in mind, the company has appointed as many as 350 dealers in the US. These dealers are currently setting up the front-end infrastructure for the company’s foray, said company sources. Going by the pace of the work being undertaken, it is expected that the company would launch its vehicles in the US by 2009-end.

It has come as surprise for the industry observers that Mahindra and Mahindra is lining up its entry into the Americas at a situation when the global economic scene is in a shambles. However, the company has maintained that the US is a very big market and despite the current slump in sales, its entry plans stay firm.

Meanwhile, the slowdown has affected the American automotive scene so hard that the pick-up truck and SUV market there has been seeing a major decline. The top three automotive players such as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have posted frighteningly low sales and profit numbers. In such a scenario, Mahindra and Mahindra thinks that its products have the potential to rule the US automotive market.

The reason being said by the company is that the trucks and SUVs that have seen decline in demand are the ones that are gas guzzlers. However, it said, Mahindra would hit the American market with small compact products running on clean-burning diesel that would run more miles per gallon. The company also plans to offer the variety of models under its fold at affordable and competitive prices. The company is expected to bring to the US market two-door and 4-door pick-ups based on the Scorpio platform. These models will also adhere to Euro V emission standards.