2009 Mahindra pickup
PickupTruck.com has just interviewed John Perez who is the CEO of Global Vehicles U.S.A. (GV-USA), a company that's going to bring over the Mahindra pickup from India.
This is going to be an interesting addition to the American pickup truck landscape in that it will offer a number of unique features not currently seen over here. For one, it will be a compact pickup with a clean, high-tech 4-cylinder diesel...
In addition it will have a 6-speed tiptronic transmission. It will be offered in both crew cab and regular cab versions. Payload reportedly will be a little over one ton, which is extremely high for this class of vehicle.
Prices are expected to start in the low $20K range, with US sales beginning in 2009. Perez states: "...we're not going to be the cheapest in the market, but we're going to be very reasonably priced." Perez is hoping to sell 45,000 units the first year.
It's also interesting to note that there will not be an extended cab model. I think that's smart, as I see the advent and popularity of crew cabs as being the death blow to extended cabs—especially for compact and mid-size trucks. It would not surprise me one bit to see other truck makers drop that body configuration in the future.
Full story here.
- Permalink | Comments (19)
- Posted by: Bob Holland September 10, 2007, 5:54 AM
- Categories: Future Vehicles, Trucks
GV-USA has a terrible track record with the CrossLander.
Mahindra I believe can supply a product that will meet emissions, crash testing and other regulatory requirements to import to the US.
Are imports of light trucks subject to the Chicken Tax? I suspect that pricing of the vehicles is about $5000 too high and if this is due to the tariff then Mahindra should import knockdown kits to a NAFTA area and assemble them there to avoid the Chicken Tax.
I would take a chance on this type of vehicle if it was no more than $19K for the basic 4WD regular cab and no more than $22.5K for the crew cab.
Unfortunately for Mahindra the only thing they will offer in the first year that is unique is diesel in less than full size truck and with Dodge, Ford and GM all scheduled to offer 1/2 ton diesels no later than 2010 I see big problems ahead.
Chinese trucks will undercut the pricing of Mahindra and buyers of diesels will have no reason to not buy a domestic.
And what about Chamco?
quote Chamco story from Autonews-
While Mexican plans are delayed, the mid-2008 U.S. sales launch for CHAMCO’s SUV and truck remains on track, Pollack says.
“We’re very confident we will be first,” he says, promising CHAMCO’s planned July rollout will beat all other Chinese auto makers to the market.
CHAMCO is among a bevy of Chinese vehicle manufacturers slated to appear at the Detroit auto show in January. Included in the list of exhibitors is Changfeng Group Co. Ltd. and Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.. Changfeng was at the 2007 show, and Geely made a Detroit appearance in 2006.
Last year, CHAMCO displayed its U.S.-bound SUV and truck at a site outside Cobo Center, the official location of the Detroit show.
Because CHAMCO primarily is concerned right now with signing U.S. dealers than drawing in U.S. consumers, Pollack says he’s uncertain if the exhibit will remain at Cobo for the show’s entire 9-day public run.
“I’d rather not talk to consumers until the spring when we’re much closer to bringing cars here,” he says, adding CHAMCO also will attend next year’s National Automobile Dealers Assn. convention in San Francisco and the 2008 New York auto show.
CHAMCO has more than 40 dealers signed right now, and another 30 or 40 are going through the due-diligence process, Pollack says.
CHAMCO’s full network will consist of 150 dealers. But the auto maker will go ahead with its U.S. launch next year even if it initially falls short of that number, he says.
“I’m more concerned about the date of homologation than hitting 150 dealers,” Pollack says, adding the process has been slow because dealers are being asked to take a risk by investing in CHAMCO.
Race-car driver Steve Saleen was hired in June as CEO of ZX Auto North America in order to help with dealer development and the homologation process. The vehicles sold in China are certified Euro 3 and not Euro 4, which is equivalent to the current U.S. emissions standard.
While recalls of Chinese-made goods have been making headlines this summer, Pollack believes the heavy regulation of the auto industry, both in China and the U.S., and the quality checks CHAMCO has in place at ZX Auto’s Chinese plants will prevent any embarrassments when the vehicles arrive next year.
“We chose this specific partner because we really liked their quality operation,” Pollack says of ZX Auto, which is a minor Chinese player, having sold 34,000 units globally last year. Although that’s far below competitors that sell in the hundreds of thousands, such as Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., ZX Auto is the leading producer of light trucks in China.
“The plant is terrific,” Pollack says. “They test-drive every single car they produce. (And) finally, part of our contract with this partner is we have our own quality inspectors in every factory. I have in each plant 10 people who work for me, not my Chinese partner.”
Pollack says the inspectors eye 187 critical points during the assembly process, and each must affix their personal gold seal to every vehicle.
“Without 10 gold seals on the door panel, the car does not get put on a ship to the U.S.,” he says.
Pollack dubs “heart stopping” the video posted on the Internet that showed the disastrous results of a Russian crash-test of a Chinese-built Chery model. But he says preliminary testing of ZX Auto models has shown they “are too strong (to fall victim to the same fate).
“In fact, we’re in the process of adding front and rear absorption and crumple zones to pass U.S. regulations,” he says. “These are heavy, strong, fullsize vehicles.”
-end
eww
I think it's a good thing for an automaker from a country with a developing car industry to come in and not sell on price.
I can imagine there is demand for compact pickups, given most of the current entries are really no longer compacts.
But...they left the segment for a reason - there's no profit to be made.
I wish these guys luck. Performing well on crash tests and emissions are a pre-requisite IMHO.
ateixeira- But...they left the segment for a reason - there's no profit to be made.
Other segments there is no profit to be made in......at least concerning domestics....
Compact Cars
Hatchbacks
Hybrids
Minivans
Station Wagons
Coupes
Diesels
Will Ford Ranger sell 350,000 again like it did in 1999? Not any time soon, however, if Ford and GM would invest in class leading product then there is no doubt that both GM and Ford could each sell 150,000 plus compact trucks.
The problem here is failure to invest.
The price is just too high. And I disagree about entering the market with competitive pricing. Hyundai did very well with that business model. Besides, nobody has any idea how Mahindras perform.
What's the deal with the 25% tax the US has on imported trucks? I can see cars but name a truck that's a threat to US trucks sales?
Firstwagon - That might be precisely the point. The domestics have never had competition until recently.
But the tax has been there for years. Why?
They should ship modules to Mexico and do final assembly there, to get around that.
I'm disappointed that Perez called the transmission a "tiptronic" because that's a Porsche trademark. If these trucks won't actually have a Porsche tranny, he should've just called it a "manumatic."
Also, he says the diesels will meet Tier II Bin 5, but won't Tier II Bin 8 be in effect by the time these go on sale in the first quarter of 2009?
okay people i am indian i have lived in indian for about 13 years and here it is this car will sell the Quality will be just like ford or a chevy and maybe even better and mahindara can do it and the design will improve trust me ..i will give u the fill story later
I'm not sure who owns the trademark or patent on "Tiptronic", but Volkwagen has also used a Tiptronic transmission. (Made in Japan by JATCO or Aisen.)
If Mahindra is calling their transmission a Tiptronic, then they must be using the same Japanese supplier. That's a good sign, I think -- Bosch diesel technology and Japanese transmission technology should help to overcome many questions about the heritage of Mahindra trucks. (Though I think a 6-speed manual transmission would be a good thing too.)
I bet the naysayers are going to be surprised how well this little truck will sell. I can hardly wait for a chance to order one. I would even volunteer to be the first American to purchase one. The reason. Diesel. They last twice as long as a gas and are good on fuel MPG. Here's my order. Silver, 4x4, crew cab, vinyl floor covering and seat covering (black or grey color), ac, heat, cruise control, am/fm radio. Would rather have a 5 or 6 speed manual, but will take the automatic. Dang! I'm salivating just typing this up...... Let me know when they roll off the boat.
i'll take 4
As usual these days, our solutions are coming from overseas engineers, as the good old USA somehow manages to mess it up. My only advice to Mahindra: Don't do what Detroit did to their trucks. Marketing people got a hold of them, and ruined them. All that mattered was ego and impression. Useful utility was thrown to the wind. I went out a few months back, checkbook in hand to buy a new truck. For $28,000 I found that I would get: 1) Lousy fuel mileage, worse than my '93 Chevy pickup. 2) Options and features I didn't want. 3) Every truck on the lot was a 4x4 quad cab (I live in S.E. PA, no need for it). All the manufacturers jacked their trucks up and raised the bedside heights. We put a lot of stuff in our trucks and pull a lot of cargo out OVER the bedsides. The new trucks require a ladder to do this, and to clean the windshield. Good riddance, Detroit. You forgot how to build trucks. Mahindra, you built the Willys Jeeps in WWII, now, show them how to build pickups that work!
i want a black one with 5 speed, straight axle, and lockouts. and make it look more like a 1983 toyota SR5.
I have driven mahindra vehicles on "more pothole -less road" in India. Mahindra makes rugged vehicles mostly used on country roads and hilly areas.Their "Jeep" model is very famous. This decade They are making vehicles more attrtive for high end buyers. Mahindra with Renault launched "Logan". Its doing Good.
Scorpio is one of the best selling MUV in India.
Hope they click on butter like roads in USA.