Hybrid Scorpio will take on Land Rover

Mahindra says Asia's first green vehicle is good for any market.

Mahindra & Mahindra, India's biggest sport-utility vehicle maker, is looking forward to compete with Land Rover, while wishing the Tata Group well in the final lap for the acquisition of the British marquee and Jaguar from global major Ford.

"We are looking forward to compete with Land Rover," Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director said, when asked about his company's plan if and when Tata Motors drives in with the Jaguar and Land Rover brands.

M&M, which was in the race for the two Ford luxury brands, is itself on the threshhold of launching Asia's first green vehicle.

"We are ready with hybrid Scorpio. This is Asia's first green vehicle," Mahindra said. He said the proto-type of the vehicle, which was unveiled at the Auto Expo in Delhi last week, was fully developed by the company's research and development team.

M&M is virtually out of the race for Land Rover and Jaguar, but the company's chief said he was happy that the two brands may be owned by an Indian company. Mahindra expressed his good wishes for the Tatas on the final lap to acquire the brands.

Mahindra pointed out that the Scorpio was being upgraded continuously and the Hybrid was good enough for any developed market, including the highly demanding US, and that this would be the focal point for the company.

According to M&M sources, the hybrid Scorpio is capable of meeting even the most stringent emission norms enforced by the state of California in the US.

The company has also put on display a hydrogen-run three-wheeler and a bio-diesel Scorpio with the focus on sustainability and affordability.

The automaker has also tied up with International Trucks to foray into truck manufacturing.

Last week the company announced it would acquire Italian auto design firm G R Grafica Ricerca Design Srl to strengthen its existing design capabilities towards becoming a global auto design powerhouse. The company hopes to develop a global design centre for the group that would also cater to global auto original equipment manufacturers.

M&M has said that it is deferring joint investments with Renault and Nissan at a manufacturing plant in Chennai, explaining that this decision was taken on economic grounds to help save funds.