The country’s largest utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra said on Tuesday that it will be developing new vehicles on a joint platform with its Korean entity SsangYong Motor Co. Mahindra had acquired 70 percent stake for USD 378 million ailing south Korean utility vehicle maker Ssangyong last year. The new jointly developed vehicle could be rolled-out in coming 3 to 4 years.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, M&M President Automotive Sector Pawan Goenka, said, "We are investing in product and brand development in SsangYong Motor Co. Both the teams of M&M and SsangYong Motor Co are working together to develop new product platforms over the next 3-4 years."
According to Mr. Goenka, the company is not expecting any turnaround from SsangYong Motor, this year, and is focusing on the volume growth of the firm. He added that the firm is now reducing its dependence on Western European market and enhancing its presence in markets like Russia, South America and China, considerably.
The Korean SUV maker has targeted to sell 1,20,000 units of its vehicle in the market during calendar year 2011. In the first six months of the year (January to June), the firm has sold 55,000 units of its vehicles , expecting sales of 65,000 units in the remaining months of this calendar year.
The current utility vehicle line-up of Mahindra & Mahindra in the Indian auto market include Bolero, Scorpio and Xylo.
