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In Conversation: Anand Mahindra on M&M's automotive aspirations
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The European automotive scene, mired as it is in absolute stagnation, is poised to see some cheer, especially as it has an Indian connect and that comes via Mahindra & Mahindra. The venerable maker of utility vehicles with the term 'sport' sprinkled on a few models is hopeful that its value proposition might just do the trick on the continent. On the eve of the firm's second European foray, Adil Jal Darukhanawala got to spend time with Anand Mahindra, chairman of the eponymous firm and also the architect of much of Mahindra's mobility moves, engaging him on a wide variety of topics. Here is the exclusive full length interview
ADIL JAL DARUKHANAWALA: Mahindra came in with its Scorpio based products in the year 2004 onwards in Europe but somehow the effort didn’t meet with the desired results. It is now poised to make the decisive leap as a manufacturer of consequence from India on European roads. I’m sure that you have learned from your first foray and are better prepared for Europe this time.
ANAND MAHINDRA: I like to think so Adil and we would not make such a leap to use the phrase that you used without being confident that we are going to be much better at what we do this time around. First and foremost we have a superior product. We have a product that I think European consumers will be hard pressed to say it does not match up to the best they can choose from the global manufacturers. And as we have seen in India, there has been a very positive response to the feature-packed nature of the XUV. I think people are going to be very pleasantly surprised by the value that they get from the XUV here. Secondly, I believe our network is maturing here and our subsidiary in Europe has been through many transitions, has been through a steep learning curve and even though the climate right now in all of Europe can hardly be termed as a very positive and robust one, perhaps this is a sweet spot at which a very feature-packed value-for-money product will find broad acceptance.
AJD: So is this also a certain manifestation of the ‘Mahindra Rise’ philosophy for Europe?
AM: I would like to think so. Interestingly we are here as you know for meeting press all across Europe in a pre-launch kind of activity and we thought a lot about what is the right positioning and we said well, the rise positioning which is at the core of everything Mahindra does, in fact is probably the most appropriate way to strike a chord within the hearts of the consumer here. People have been very bemused, very depressed by the economic climate but I think they see hope or they want to see hope in the future and that is what ‘Rise’ is all about – it’s about never say die, it’s about phoenix, it’s about revival. So I think and I hope that will strike the right note here.
AJD: You have your own wholly owned subsidiary here in Europe and it’s striking that earlier when you went across to countries like France, Spain, everything still happened from Italy. So again to go back to the stint in World War II, the allies started their move back into Europe from Sicily onwards, so Italy is the stepping stone for you once again for Europe?
AM: Oh, that’s a nice snippet of history that you have given me and I will probably use that at some point in my discussion with journalists, but yes, you have to have a staging point. Why Italy? It becomes a little difficult to find exactly the right reason; we found the right partner here initially, the Morphetta family and they had the belief in our products. To some extent it was accidental, a good meeting of minds, accidental in the sense that the geography wasn’t chosen specifically because of market size or logistical reasons but when you find the right partner I think it means much more than the other criteria. So yes, Italy is our staging point, it is our home ground, if you will.
AJD: Will it be just a single model portfolio for Europe? Can you sustain your second thrust with just a single model? And yes I am not bringing in SsangYong into the picture here because it has its own identity and well established distribution channel in Europe.
AM: Well, you know earlier, in fact it wasn’t even the Scorpio. The Goa, as it was known in Europe, that was the real bread and butter of Mahindra Europe, it was the pick-up truck and very gradually people have begun to accept it as a part of the landscape. Constantly on twitter I am getting people who send me photographs of the pick-ups that they have seen in Europe, Italy and France and all sorts of locations. So very quietly that product has been gaining reputation as a very sturdy and reliable product. Now I think therefore the XUV will come in as an up to date modern recreational SUV which can add to the portfolio of the pick-ups we have. And as you know that there are many products of ours which now can drive global initiatives and that could be the Genio also as you know is a modern day pick-up. So I don’t think we are a one product company and as we go further yes, there are synergies with SsangYong and of course we have a strong new pipeline that is also coming up all of which will be global products.
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Readers' opinions ( 6 )
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Rajesh
Mahindra's RISE truly inspiring ! Never got Interview call to work when applied two decades back ! ......
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Jason Davis
Truly inspiring reading it was, especially the ideals of this great man
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monu sharma
this is a top asian and m.n.c company. i have succesfully long life.
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lalramsang infimate
I wish to say since the last ten years that Mahindra is "a rising Indian".I hope i dont need to explain more than that.The interview has not been an advertisement of the products.But it has been only relections of the performances the Mahindra has given over the last many good years.Something any Indians will be truely proud of.May the Heavenly blessings continue on Mahindra Co,s good souls.Thanking you.
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rekhesh jain
Dear Adil Jal Darukhanawala,We are very much pleased to read your interview, wishing you perpetual health , peace and creativity to serve some thing constructive, educative and informative to make people and governance aware. In this interview Mr. Anand Mahendra share about education. How much education is important, how much his grand-pa and father was keen, because of that what kind of difference they made in field of science. His answer was amazing. We Indian do not need more than Education, Education itself is the need of the aged, I hope so because, we should take constructive initiative about education and civic sense at the grass root level through their mother language (By well paid primary teacher), basic health facility ( Well paid qualified natural health coach and medical doctors) social security through well paid police community) I believe ! It will make constructive sustainable difference in long term. Otherwise in no time further deterioration will be happen. No god will help us.
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