Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) plans to hit base in the CIS member nation, Georgia, through a strategic alliance with a Georgian government-controlled auto company. The company plans assembling of completely knocked down (CKD) kits of utility vehicles based on the Scorpio platform, its range of pick-ups and the Bolero, for sale in Georgia.
If the alliance materialises, this would be the second such overseas alliance by M&M in recent times. The company had recently formed a 50:50 joint venture with the Sun group in Russia to assemble vehicles at the latter's facility for sale in Russia. The Russian market for multi-utility vehicles (MUVs) is expected to be around 1.75-2.5 lakh units per year.
Pravin Shah, vice-president (overseas operations) of the automotive division, M&M, said: "We are looking at a business opportunity for exports in Georgia, and also in Ukraine. We hope to assemble vehicles at a local plant in Georgia, which is currently closed. We expect the market for our vehicles to be around 4,000 vehicles an year."
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He, however, declined to reveal the identity of the Georgian auto company. In addition to vehicles, the company is planning to export vehicle aggregates such as engines, transmission and gear-boxes to maximise its export revenue. It currently exports its XD3 engines to Turkey, and other countries. Last year, it had exported around 5,000 XD3 engines to Turkey, Shah said.
M&M also plans a major export foray in the years following the launch of the Scorpio, and has set itself a target of exporting 20,000 utility vehicles by 2005-06. The company is also looking at exports to countries in Europe, South and Central America, in addition to south Asian countries.
The company has also registered itself with the United Nations to explore the possibility of exporting its utility vehicles to Afghanistan. It is expected that following the end of the war, development work in Afghanistan is likely to spurt, leading to good business opportunities for Indian companies.