Mahindra officials announce the opening of two new facilities in metro Detroit: a technical center in Troy and a plant in Ann Arbor.
Indian manufacturing conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra has landed in the U.S., specifically just outside of Detroit. The Mumbai-based company is opening an engineering center and a manufacturing plant at locations near Detroit.
Mahindra USA Inc. has settled on Troy, Michigan, as the site for a new research and development center expected to house more than 100 engineers, technicians and support staff. Mahindra also plans to assemble electric motor bikes, the Mahindra GenZe, at a new but separate manufacturing center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which will have 34 employees.
“Michigan provided us the perfect eco-system to step up our U.S. presence. We were able to draw on the terrific automotive engineering and manufacturing talent available in the state to create industry leading initiatives for the United States,” said Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra Group, during a visit to the Detroit area.
Overall, Mahindra is investing $4 million in the two projects. The Michigan Strategic Fund supported the projects with an $800,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant.
“The North American Technical Center and GenZe represent important disruptive product incubators for the Mahindra Group,” Mahindra said. “Constant innovation focused on improving the lives of our consumers, employees and the communities they impact is at the core of Mahindra’s ‘Rise’ philosophy and we are delighted to see this come to fruition in the United States.”
The plant in Ann Arbor will have the capacity to assemble up to 9,000 vehicles per year with the ability to ramp up to 20,000 vehicles, if needed.
“The GenZe by Mahindra as the first electric urban two-wheeler designed and manufactured in the United States,” said Vish Palekar, CEO, Mahindra GenZe. “The GenZe is conceived for students and urban commuters who are desperate to break free from congestion, tired of increasing gas prices and the lack of convenient parking.”
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Mahindra North American Technical Center, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mahindra USA, Inc. Mahindra USA, Inc. is owned by Mahindra & Mahindra, a Mumbai, India-based publicly owned conglomerate. Mahindra North American Technical Center will design, develop and prototype complete vehicle designs to facilitate Mahindra’s expansion into automotive markets worldwide.
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A $16.7 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employs more than 180,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, holding a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology, and vacation ownership.
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In addition, Mahindra maintains a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defense, energy, financial services, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two wheeler industries.
Mahindra already sell tractors in the U.S. but an effort to sell small pickup trucks bogged down after the vehicle failed to meet basic U.S. emission requirements and collapsed in an a flurry of lawsuits by franchisee and dealers.