Citing various hurdles, Mahindra defers its US foray to sell passenger vehicles indefinitely

Indian SUV and utility vehicle major Mahindra &Mahindra has deferred its foray into the United States of America indefinitely. The automaker cited regulatory and legal hurdles as the basis of its decision to not enter the US of A in the near future to sell passenger vehicles. However, the automaker has not ruled out making another foray into the US market in the next few years, albeit when conditions are more favorable for its entry. Mahindra does have a presence in the USA through its tractor division, which has been doing business in that country for many years now.

2012 Mahindra TR40 Pick Up

Mahindra has had some difficult issues to contend with ahead of its US foray. Firstly, the US regulatory approval for its TR40 pick up, the first product that it intended to sell in USA, took quite a while to arrive. Even as the automaker struggled with low EPA fuel economy figures for its Scorpio SUV based TR40 pick up, it was hit by another jolt when its former US distributor, Global Vehicles, sued it for breach of agreement terms. The matter reached arbitration at London, and was ruled in Mahindra’s favor earlier this year.

Now though, Mahindra finds itself contending with class action lawsuits filed by US dealers, claiming damages for losses caused due to the long delay in beginning the sale of Mahindra passenger vehicles in the USA. So, amidst all these negative factors, the automaker has finally decided to throw in the towel and pull out of the US market for the time being. The first product to be launched by Mahindra in the USA was the TR40 pick up truck, which was based on the Scorpio SUV. The TR40 pick up truck was to be available in single cab and twin cab variants.

2012 Mahindra TR40 Single Cab Pick Up

The Mahindra TR40 pick up truck was powered by the same 2.2 Liter mHawk common rail turbo diesel engine that powers the Scorpio SUV. This engine produces a peak power of 120 Bhp with peak torque rated at 280 Nm. The engine was mated to a six speed automatic gearbox, the same unit which is found on the Scorpio Automatic. The Mahindra TR40 pick up was to be positioned as an extremely affordable light pick up truck in the US market, taking on established brands like Ford and General Motors. Currently, Mahindra exports its pick up and SUV range to a number of countries across the world which include South Africa, Colombia and Australia, amongst many others.