Pawan Goenka, ED and President of Mahindra confirmed that the company will be commencing operations of its seventh plant in the country at Chennai by 2015-16 that will manufacture a completely new range of models for the market. With the general elections underway, the company has kept the official announcement on hold as the state cannot make an investment announcement because of the election commission’s rules. Mahindra states that the deal is on the final stages and the announcement should come in the month of June.
The new plant will see an investment of Rs. 4000 crores over a period of three years, which will be targeted towards capacity expansion and new product development. The company’s new plant is expected to spread over 400 acres at Cheyyar in Tamil Nadu. Mahindra also has a research and development centre in Tamil Nadu called Mahindra Research Valley, which employs 2500 people.
Mahindra’s next set of products that will be manufactured at the new plant include a Ford EcoSport rivalling compact SUV codenamed S101, the next-generation Scorpio, a global MPV codenamed W202 and an all-new LCV that will replace the Maxximo. The company in conjunction with South Korean partner SsangYong is also working on developing three all-new engines that will power the new range of Mahindra and SsangYong vehicles.
The first engine, a 1.6-litre unit will be used to power a new SsangYong vehicle in the first quarter of 2015, while the second and third engine will power the new range of Mahindra SUVs in the second half of 2015. The new compact SUV will be Mahindra’s next major launch in the very competitive segment, which will replace the dud selling Quanto. The company also has the Scorpio facelift lined up for launch this year that will get mild updates to the design and interiors, while the Quanto is set to get an AMT automatic gearbox later this year.
Source – Financial Express
