Mumbai, March 22: PAL-Peugeot's Kalyan plant in northeast Mumbai has emerged as a key contender for Mahindra & Mahindra's ``Project-Scorpio'' which would see production of the latest offering from the company, a state-of-the-art new generation utility vehicle.While M&M will still exercise the option of scouting for a greenfield site for the project, industry sources say that the Kalyan facility will be considered seriously as it offers a ready-made plant with all facilities in place. M&M officials were, however, unavailable for comment on the issue.
The company has been reported to be the sole contender for the PAL-Peugeot plant which is now up for ownership following the exit of Automobiles Peugeot from the joint venture in November. The responsibility of finding an alternative partner was entrusted with partner, Premier Automobiles.
``Project-Scorpio'' is the code name for the new IDAM (integrated design and manufacture) product being developed by M&M's research and development team.The company setup the IDAM centre two years back at its factory in Kandivli, Mumbai. Work is on at this centre to develop a brand new platform for this vehicle that will be introduced in 2000. Insiders say that the team working on the project is trying to build flexibility in the IDAM design so that introduction of variants focused at different market segments is possible. While, in the past, product improvements made by the company were incremental in nature, observers say this is no longer possible or pragmatic.
M&M, they add, will now need to design a completely new platform where all systems are optimised to reach the desired functionality levels at minimum costs.
The design work done so far by the IDAM centre, especially the interiors and exteriors, has come for a lot of praise from those who have had a recent sneak preview. According to them, a lot of effort is being put into the vehicle to ensure that it has a ready market both here and abroad.
The company is going all out to see that it can stand up tocompetition in the multi-utility segment from other players like Toyota which plans a suitable version of the Kijang here. M&M's offering will be customer friendly, sources say, with a host of features like an independent front suspension, power-steering option, factory-fitted air-conditioning, heater systems, plush interiors for the high end and comfortable ones for the low end.
The new vehicle is expected to come in both petrol and diesel versions. Though there is no indications on the planned volumes, sources say the company would be inclined to look at a total capacity of one lakh vehicles for which the production schedule will be in two phases. The product is being planned to be India's answer to the world in multi-utility vehicles.
The IDAM centre at Kandivli employs over 100 qualified engineers and is equipped with all facilities, including computer aided design (CAD) and vehicle modelling. Most of the engineers have undergone specialised training in designing, modelling and styling of vehicles incountries like the US and the UK at leading design studios. The multi-utility vehicle segment is being perceived as the fastest growing after cars. The two key players today are M&M & Telco who account for nearly 85 per cent of the market.
While M&M plans the Armada Grand shortly with both diesel and petrol versions, sales of its recently introduced Voyager are tipped to increase following the recent price cut. To date, there has been no official confirmation, either from M&M or PAL, on the current ownership status of the Kalyan plant. Industry sources say that while the facility is the best bet for ``Project-Scorpio'' there has been some apprehension from M&M on the labour force. There have also been reports that the company has given PAL a month's time to work out a suitable restructuring proposal for the work force at Kalyan. This could translate into a voluntary retirement scheme after which M&M will sign a new wage pact and induct those workers found suitable for ``Project-Scorpio.'
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
