M & M To Replace Armada With Scorpios

Mahindra & Mahindra has decided to replace its showpiece utility vehicle model, the Armada, and its largest selling Commander series with the Scorpio series that is set to roll in the year 2000.

The decision to phase out the two existing models follow a series of market research studies conducted by the company last year to evaluate customer satisfaction levels about its existing products.

Based on the findings, the company decided to launch an entirely new range of vehicles rather than retool its existing models. The company proposes a phased replacement of its existing line by doing away with the Armada first, and then the best selling Commander series, industry sources said. The phase-out will begin only after Scorpio is launched in the year 2000.

It may be mentioned the company has launched an ungraded version of the Armada earlier this year, the Armada 1998, and will be introducing the Armada Grand shortly. The Scorpio series, which will replace the current vehicles, will be an entirely new vehicle developed on a new platform, fitted with a new suspension, new seating, styling and heat control systems.

The new series will become the bread and butter for M&M in the years to come, the sources said. M&M plans to introduce three variants of Scorpio targeted at the upper, middle and the low cost segments.

M&M is also planning to rope in its US based partner, Ford Motor Company, the world's second largest company, to help in developing the new series.

Ford will be helping us with our integrated design and manufacture project (IDAM) project, and we are discussing possibilities of Ford exporting our Scorpio models thereby broadening the areas of our long term alliance with Ford, says Alan Durante, executive director, M&M.

The company is also exploring possibilities of a product sharing agreement with Ford in India.

The new vehicle is geared to meet customer satisfaction for the next millennium, Durante said.

The company proposes to begin with a production level of 50,000 units per annum, and subsequently beefing up production to 1.5 lakh units, depending on customer acceptance of the vehicles.

The company will be investing Rs 600 crore towards the new project. The entire funding will, however, be through internal accruals.

The IDAM proposes to develop a brand new vehicle for which the M&M teams have been interacting with AVL of Austria for engines and design studios, and Fuji Dyes and Tools.

Currently, we have 100 engineers working on the project, and we have also requested Ford to help us out on this project, Durante said.

Ford has posted five engineers for the project, and has agreed to help us with component aggregates thereby taking our relationship in India to the product alliance stage, he added.