Mahindra & Mahindra is transforming
It appears rumours are rife about a potential Mahindra transformation with a new leadership group, fresh talent, and a bigger focus on its core business. This is underpinned by the launching of 12 new Mahindra models within the next five years. Whether any of these new models will come to South Africa or see the updates remain to be seen but this story is certainly worth following.
The Future Of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)
Among the most notable cars must be the Mahindra Scorpio which launched globally in 2002. At the time it was considered the biggest step forward for Mahindra & Mahindra in nearly 50 years as it helped the brand steer into a new era of products. Since then, Mahindra has become more of a mainstream player with some incredibly successful cars and some that weren’t.
However, the success of the Scorpio gave Mahindra the confidence to enter global acquisitions and form alliances. They wanted to expand into new territories with the likes of two-wheelers and heavy commercial vehicles. Perhaps they tried doing too much and lost focus from its core values and ideals.
It seems that’s exactly the company’s view and now that the old leadership group is moving on, the new decision-makers are taking a different approach. The focus has shifted to concentrate solely on quality and affordable SUVs, which gave Mahindra a great name from the start.
Mahindra Could Become An Even Bigger Global Player
While Mahindra had alliances with SsangYong and Ford, those days are gone and they are confident in going ahead on their own. It’s not going to be easy as many rival automakers are currently collaborating to develop new products, share the costs and risk.
Over the years, Mahindra has learnt many lessons and none more important than global automakers thinking or performing as frugally as domestic players. According to a former Mahindra source: “For some of the programmes we were evaluating we realised that we could do it at 60% of Ford’s costs”. Mahindra believes that being independent will make the company faster, more agile and in better control of its future.
The success of the latest Mahindra Thar is a stark reminder of the quality that they can produce. Up to now, some of the automaker’s portfolio wasn’t in top gear and showcases the brand’s new direction. Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director, Auto and Farm Sectors said: “It’s all about focusing on our DNA, which is authentic SUVs.”
That’s precisely what the company plans on doing from now, spurred on by the new management of Dr Anish Shah, the new MD and CEO of the Mahindra Group, and Jejurikar. They’ve made a promise to focus only on SUVs that deliver a strong emotional connection with potential new buyers and existing Mahindra drivers.
Electric vehicles with SUV body styles are also going to play a pivotal role in the company’s product strategy. They have earmarked approximately 25% of the total capital expenditure towards product development and expansion for Mahindra electric SUVs.
New Vehicle Technology As Part Of The Mahindra Transformation
Mahindra doesn’t waste time as they’ve already made large investments in key capital-intensive areas such as powertrains and an all-new electronic (E/E) architecture.
To be future-ready, they have new, state-of-the-art mStallion petrol and mHawk diesel engines which means they don’t have to invest in engine technology for the next five years. Mahindra has managed to cover all its future internal combustion engines with capacities ranging from 1.2 to 2.2 litres.
Since Mahindra has already developed its next-generation ‘Smart Core’ system, they also don’t have to invest in infotainment and electronic systems. Internationally, this technology will make its debut in the Mahindra XUV700 and will be leaps and bounds ahead of what is currently available.
The all-new E/E system is developed by Visteon and will allow future Mahindra vehicles to have the latest infotainment systems, 360-degree cameras, a suite of connected features and even Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
Smart Spending And Cutting Losses
Investing smartly and cutting your losses is the way forward for Mahindra and it shows as they are only spending money in areas where they think the brand could be successful. This means they will eventually phase out non-performing product lines, including the Marazzo and Mahindra KUV100. It may seem counterproductive but it makes complete sense as there is no point wasting resources on the highly competitive MPV and micro-SUV markets.
Since Mahindra is no longer sharing development costs and benefitting from Ford’s input, Mahindra won’t have access to Ford’s B772 platform. This was destined for the next-gen Mahindra XUV500 (S301) which would be smaller than the old model. It will be positioned as a Creta fighter but they have to find another platform and that is a costly and time-consuming process.
Confidence is high under the new leadership as Mahindra feels as they’ve already invested in the engine and E/E architecture, developing the Mahindra S301 won’t cost too much.
Mahindra Is All Fired Up
The new leadership is fired up and not wasting any time making changes for the better. According to an insider: “There’s a new energy, aggression and decisiveness sweeping through the company, the likes of which we’ve not seen for decades.”
At the core of the shake-up is Jejurikar building a strong team which means empowering a handful of trusted, existing senior executives along with hiring fresh talent as well. Dr Uli Stuhec, formerly from Ford, is one new addition to help jumpstart Mahindra’s Born Electric programme. Another possible candidate is celebrated designer Pratap Bose from Tata Motors as the group’s global design head.
Frankly, Mahindra hasn’t always been at the forefront of design and styling as the company seemed to struggle with finding a cohesive and defined design language. Coincidently, Bose’s possible move is around the same time as Mahindra’s announcement of the Mahindra Automotive Design Europe (M.A.D.E). This will be the company’s first-ever European design studio and will be located in the UK.
Mahindra Automotive Design Europe presents the automaker with the perfect opportunity to tap into some of the world’s best global design talent. Agencies across the UK have reported been inundated with CVs from people at companies such as Jaguar and McLaren; all too keen to join the new Mahindra design studio.
Mahindra Is Launching 12 New Models Internationally
There are plans to launch as many as 12 new Mahindra models over the next five years but they are not taking a shotgun approach by targeting every market. Mahindra is laser-focused on high-performing core segments for the brand and that is the ever-popular SUV.
The even better news is that they will be more affordable than their rivals and it starts with the new premium flagship SUV later this year, the Mahindra XUV700. There will also be some lifestyle and design-driven products where some cars will enter new segments and dedicated electric vehicles. Considering what we now know and with such a strong plan in place, the next few years could be the best for Mahindra.
Although this applies more to the international market, perhaps Mahindra will revisit the South African market as the potential is undoubtedly there.
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