Mahindra to use diesel to power its American ambitions

Mahindra is going to make[Semi knocked down kits] and sell the Scorpio pickup in the US market by 2010.The vehicle will be sold with a diesel engine[2.2L mhawk] in the US markets ,presently the double cab version in India[minus the 2.2L mhawk engine,it has a 2.6L crde diesel engine but is less powerful than the mhawk] starts at $17650 in India.

The US version with the powerful engine in its regular/single cab avatar would retail with a base price of atleast $22,000 which would thus directly compete with the Toyota tundra pickup apart from the others.The advantage the Mahindra pickup has is the MPG and low fuel cost and this is what Mahindra representatives in the US are harping on as its main USP.There is no rival for Mahindra in this space anywhere in the near future is what Mahindra claim.

I'm really happy about this diesel," says Mr. Perez. "This is a market that nobody is going to be in for at least three of four years. We're going to be able to give small businesses a truck that can get 30 to 35 miles-per-gallon, and with a diesel engine that's durable. It's a $40,000 truck that we're going to sell in the mid-$20,000s. This is not Chinese junk."

And it will be able to haul too. Mahindra promises the truck will be able to carry a very sizeable 1.3-ton (2,600-lb) payload in its 7.5-foot cargo box. By comparison, the 2008 Toyota Tacoma has a max payload rating of 1,685-lbs and the 2008 Dodge Dakota has a max payload of 1,720-lbs.

The vehicle in the US would be sold with a 2.2L mhawk engine.The U.S. version of the mHawk will have power ratings in the range of 145-horsepower to 150-horsepower and approximately 300 pound-feet of torque, though the numbers haven't been finalized.

The American mHawk will be paired with a standard six-speed automatic transmission, a floor mounted console shifter, and steering wheel mounted paddles to manually shift the gearbox.

What is also important is that a diesel hybrid is also in the pipeline which is a first for the market.The added benefit for buyers is that the diesel hybrid too is not expected to be too heavy on the pocket either.

So does mahindra have a winner here,I certainly feel so.Most of the Manufacturers have not seriously thought about the advantages of diesel however it is not going to be an easy battle for Mahindra to win over market share in the US.

[Source:Pickuptruck.com]