When M and M played catch- up with Tesla on revenue

Elon Musk’s Tesla and Anand Mahindra’s M&M have one thing in common – the spirit of innovation. That the US car brand has a strong following globally is a known fact. But what is interesting is the launch of Tesla raked in $14 million as revenues and brand M&M was not far behind, when the indigenously-designed XUV garnered $13.7 million as revenue.

When the company’s SUV bookings in August 2020 touched 80,000, the figure was beyond expectations, says R Velusamy, SVP, Head-Automotive Product Development, MRV, Mahindra. The revenue then almost matched that of Tesla at $13.7 mn. To design and launch a product, in the midst of COVID-19, rejuvenated sales.

“XUV was not one aberration. We got 40,000 bookings for ‘Thar’ developed at the M&M research valley in Chennai,” he said at a virtual event organised by the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Wednesday.

Velusamy went on to add it was the ability of the M&M team to innovate, which was a “shining example of TN as well as the tech talent pool.” In 2005, the company took the bold decision to shift R&D from Mumbai and Nashik to Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai. “We moved lock, stock and barrel and invested Rs 1,000 cr,” he said, adding there was a further infusion of Rs 500 crore recently on a Test Track.

The 300-member engineering team also swelled to over 3,000 as the innovation culture defined the growth and success of a brand. In fact, it was the launch of ‘Scorpio’ in 2002 that altered the course for M&M, as the ‘Made in India’ vehicle proved to be a saviour for its commercial vehicles business.