Mahindra group to make new commercial vehicle at Telangana plant

The automotive division of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will manufacture its new small commercial vehicle, codenamed P601, at its Zaheerabad (Telangana) automobile manufacturing facility, which was inaugurated on April 23, 2015. The new CV is scheduled to hit the roads in the first half of the current financial year (FY16).
 
The extended manufacturing facility, built with an investment of Rs 250 crore, will have capacity to produce 92,000 vehicles a year. With this, the total manufacturing capacity of the 340-acre plant is 140,000 units a year.
 
Pawan Goenka, executive director of M&M, said, “With our investment of Rs 1,100 crore till date, we have significantly invested in Telangana. We started the production of our four-wheeler vehicle from the new facility today. We will start selling that product in a short time.”
 
The automotive plant will manufacture commercial vehicles weighing under one tonne including four-wheel load and passenger vehicles, utility vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and three-wheelers.
 
Pravin Shah, president and chief executive officer (automotive) at M&M, added, “M&M would work towards manufacturing some of the best commercial vehicles from its Zaheerabad plant and help generate employment in and around the plant through its suppliers and business partners. In fact, six of our suppliers are currently setting up plants in the nearby supplier park, with investments of about Rs 100 crore. This will further maximise industrial activities and operational effectiveness, leading to just-in-time delivery for optimising cost.”
 
The Zaheerabad facility, which had earlier inaugurated the company’s tractor plant in 2013, is M&M's sixth automotive manufacturing plant in India, with the other five being in Mumbai, Chakan, Nashik, Igatpuri (Nashik district) and Haridwar. The facility also houses M&M's tractors plant, which has already reached a production volume of 3,500 units a month.