A Rough Ride

Once the leader in SUVs, Mahindra has lost its crown. The company is resetting its gameplan to stay clear of me-too products, replacing them with vehicles intrinsic to its DNA. Can it rise again?

- SUMANT BANERJI

The new decade was barely a couple of hours old when India’s utility vehicle major Mahindra and Mahindra and US carmaker Ford decided to put off their joint-venture plans. The two companies had been trying to cobble together a wide-ranging partnership since October 2019 that would have seen Ford exit the Indian market, leaving its assets in the JV with Mahindra. For a variety of reasons it had looked like a win-win deal. Ford would have benefitted from Mahindra’s marketing pull and frugal vendor development strategy, while the latter would get access to the much-needed technology for the present (gasoline) and the future (electric). The two companies blamed the pandemic and the altered market dynamics for the parting of ways.

“It was not an easy decision but both companies were clear that given the current situation, this is the most prudent decision,” Pawan Goenka, Managing Director and CEO for Mahindra, said at a virtual press conference on January 1. “We have to move on and focus on our core businesses.”