The Auto Writer

Some day Mahindra trucks will be sold in the United States. But that debut has been put off several times for a number of reasons that I will soon mention.

The Indian automaker is relying on Global Vehicles U.S.A., Inc. (GV) to distribute its trucks across the United States, giving that company exclusive rights to market its passenger vehicles. Separately, Mahindra & Mahindra sells its farm tractors directly through its own network, but when it comes to cars, they’ve left that responsibility up to an American distributor.

So, why the delays?

I can think of three reasons why Mahindra and GV have held off the release of the TR20 (two wheel drive) and TR40 (four wheel drive) pickup trucks including:

Tough Economy – Though not mentioned as a chief reason for the delay, if Mahindra trucks were ready to rock and roll during the worst of the downturn as initially planned, the brand would have had to slug it out with more established players who would have slashed their prices in a bid to keep their Toyota Tacomas, Ford Rangers, and Nissan Frontiers competitive.

Yes, the Mahindra trucks are diesels, but they won’t be the cheapest compact trucks on the market. In a tough economy price rules.

Reliability Concerns – Perhaps seeing that the American automotive landscape is littered with foreign brands that have failed to make it (let’s see, that would be: Daihatsu, Isuzu, Yugo, Peugeot, Renault, Fiat….) Mahindra wants to make sure that its trucks are well received and that they pass stringent 50 state diesel standards.

Oh, there is also a thing about making sure that its trucks are reliable – 25 trucks are logging big time miles to see how they perform under tough conditions. Those tests mean that the trucks are being tweaked and modified in advance, to ensure that no embarrassing and costly recalls are made later on.

Dealer Network – Perhaps the least concern for GV is its dealer network which is already in place. At one point, GM approached Mahindra about selling their pickup trucks through its Saturn dealer network, but Mahindra turned down that offer.

Since GM and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy last year and kicked hundreds of dealers to the curb, GV has been cherry picking through the litter to pick up a handful of orphaned dealers. That move has allowed the distributor to fill in holes in its own network.

Autoblog recently published a “potential” dealer map for GV which reveals a few holes that still need to be plugged.

US Production

Lastly, Mahindra will exports its first trucks from India and follow that up with an SUV. But, the according to a recent interview in The Wall Street Journal with Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Anand Mahindra, US production is a strong possibility (Thanks for the tip, MahindraPlanet).

However, don’t expect Mahindra to take over a closed Chrysler, Ford or GM plant as I doubt that the Indian manufacturer wants anything to do with the UAW and the problems that this union bring to the table.

Photos Presented Courtesy of Global Vehicles, Inc.