Mahindra budget bush ute for mid 2007

Sydney dealer Tynan Motors Group has detailed plans to import Mahindra utes, beginning in mid-2007, as the spearhead for a line-up that could eventually include low-priced SUVs and cars.

Two months ago Motoring exclusively revealed that Mahindra would expand into Australia and that the Tynan group had won the distribution rights.

This week dealer principal Michael Tynan confirmed the first product, a ute called Pik Up, had been approved for Australia and would be sharply priced to appeal to rural and regional markets.

Despite the challenge of a prolonged drought, the group had surveyed likely buyers with encouraging results.

"A lot of vehicles today have strayed away from being serious no-frills work machines to becoming more oriented to show," Tynan said. "We were pleased to find that many wanted a return to the basics of a hard-working, keenly priced ute."

The family-run Tynan group already sells 11 brands from Mercedes-Benz to Kia, and has set up a dedicated subsidiary, TMI Pacific, to handle its first attempt at car importing. General manager Rob Lowe said the initial investment was in the region of $5 million and expected as many as 50 dealers to be on board within a year.

Mahindra had not set any volume targets, Lowe said, but wanted to see "an ordered program" that built volume gradually. The business would be centred on NSW initially before branching into the other eastern states, and Lowe forecast around 600 sales in the first 12 months.

The Pik Up will be available as single-cab or dual-cab ute, and with two-wheel or four-wheel drive. The only powertrain offered is a 78kW common rail turbo-diesel with five-speed manual. At 5.1m long, the Pik Up has a large, one-tonne capacity load space.

This is the second time around for Mahindra in Australia after an attempt to sell through a West Australian importer failed in 1993. About 250 Stockman and Bushranger models were bought before the importer collapsed.

The Tynan group began talking to Mahindra three years ago and acknowledged concerns over quality were foremost from the start. "We all remembered the early days of Indian product which was possibly unsuitable for the Australian market," Michael Tynan said. "We talked about it long and loud ... but Mahindra had been developing a product that was most capable of holding its own."

Chairman emeritus of the Australia India Business Council, Neville Roach, said the deal was a landmark in relations between the two nations and would go a little way to redressing Australia's $6 billion trade surplus with the subcontinent.

Mahindra is a diversified industrial group, one of India's largest companies and a leading tractor-maker worldwide. Its tractors are already sold in Australia while its cars are exported to 38 countries from Asia to Africa.

The group aims to quadruple car exports to 20 per cent of total volume in the next few years, with the US a key target. Last year Mahindra sold 128,000 vehicles globally and auto division president Pawan Goenka said the company needed to expand.

"Even to stay on top in India we need to be a global player. We need to compete openly in markets where our vehicles have to compete against a wide range of models, price and specifications," he said. "Our move to the US is a vital part of our strategy."

Although Mahindra specialises in light commerical vehicles and SUVs, it began building the Logan economy car last year in partnership with Renault, which developed the model in Europe for its Dacia offshoot. The cheap-and-cheerful Logan has been a surprise hit in Europe, and Mahindra is the only source for right-hand drive versions.

Lowe admitted the Logan was a long-term prospect with an SUV, the Scorpio, also on the group's wishlist.

With four decades in the car industry, Michael Tynan said the Indian brand reminded him of the first export forays by Japanese makers. "There's as much potential in Mahindra as there was with Mazda when I signed on with it as its first Australian dealer 40 years ago," he said.