Mahindra is in talks with Chrysler

M&M is reportedly in talks with Chrysler for its iconic Jeep brand with which the Indian company has had a historical connection. M&M distributed Chrysler Jeeps in India and its first products were based on the Willys platform. However, when asked about a collaboration with Chrysler, Mr Mahindra said, “We are talking to automakers around the world to discover whether there are opportunities.”

As for its partnership with Renault, although M&M has decided not to pursue the Chennai project for now, it still retains the right to “put up something in Chennai later”.

M&M has only ‘deferred participation’ in the Chennai plant and can “co-locate and use the vendor park, utilities and infrastructure there for synergies anytime in the future,” Mr.Mahindra said. M&M was to be one-third partner along with Renault and Nissan in the Chennai plant, a separate JV from the Logan car project.

Apart from collaboration, M&M is also looking to buy break-through engineering technology as part of a larger strategy to leapfrog into the global league as an iconic vehicle maker. “Small pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, like our acquisition of an Italian design company recently, add up to a quantum leap in technology,” Mr.Mahindra said.

“This is a great time to use Indian chutzpah, the strong PE ratio and rupee to buy American manufacturing assets like engineering boutiques,” he said.

As for out-of-the-box, Nano-type thinking, M&M would look at incremental but noticeable tech breakthroughs. “Don’t expect a car that flies,” Mr.Mahindra said. “Our out-of-the-box thinking will be significant and steady but through it we will maintain customer focus and quality,” he added.

As for aggressively bidding for big-ticket deals, Mr.Mahindra maintained that the group DNA is not to be “too cautious but only rational. Whether we win or walk away (from a deal), it will be with rational markers. We will never match irrational bidding with irrational bidding,” he said.