auto news desk, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra has completed 68 years of his life today. He has the command of Rs 1.55 lakh crore Mahindra Group. The conglomerate is active in 22 sectors such as automobiles, information technology and real estate. Born on May 1, 1955, Anand Mahindra has seen many ups and downs in his life. Talking about Mahindra Auto, the company has achieved great success under the leadership of Anand Mahindra. Mahindra & Mahindra entered the auto sector with Jeep during the Second World War, but the real identity came from the Bolero.
Anand Mahindra started his career in Mahindra Eugene Steel Company Limited as Executive Director (Finance). After eight years, he was promoted and reached the position of Chairman and Deputy Managing Director. However, Mahindra was active in the auto sector since independence. In 1991, Anand became the Deputy Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Limited.
Anand Mahindra had to face a lot of difficulties in the initial phase of the auto industry. He launched the Escort car in collaboration with the American auto company Ford. However, this move did not live up to the expectations of Mahindra. After this he played a big bet and launched the Bolero SUV in India in the year 2000.
Working on the Bolero SUV was not easy. However, Mahindra got a big benefit from this and only two years later, Scorpio was launched. The launch of the Scorpio in 2002 turned Mahindra’s fortunes around. This was a time when it was a very difficult step for an Indian company to launch a homegrown car in the SUV segment. Anand Mahindra has put the Bolero and Scorpio behind Ford’s failure. Mahindra launched Scorpio with a production cost of Rs 550 crore. This was one-tenth the cost of other auto manufacturers at the time. Both these cars created a stir in the Indian SUV segment.
The success of Bolero and Scorpio made Mahindra the king of SUV cars. This is the reason why even today Mahindra is known as the Indian SUV specialist company. The demand for these cars was not only in India but also in the countries of Europe and Africa. At present, apart from Bolero and Scorpio, the company also sells SUVs like XUV700, Thar, XUV3o0, XUV400 EV.
The scope of Mahindra Auto is not limited to SUV cars only. Under the leadership of Anand Mahindra, the company has also earned a name in different segments like tractors, racing cars, bikes, scooters, trucks, buses. Mahindra also entered the electric car segment by purchasing REVAi Electric Car Company in 2010. Anand Mahindra today is carrying forward the seven decade old legacy of the Mahindra Group.