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Mahindra sets up subsidiary for customising automobiles

Multi-utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra has forayed into vehicle redesigning and customising.

The company has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary -- Mahindra Auto Specialities Limited -- to undertake customising and redesigning jobs, which includes altering the vehicle design as per demand and even bullet-proofing the vehicle for high worth individuals and armed forces.

The company, which would be functional in about six months, is also negotiating with several leading players in the auto designing business. ''We have initiated talks with Plasaan of Italy among several others for altering the vehicles as per customer demands. Plasaan would be bullet-proofing the vehicles for us. The first prototype of the bullet-proof vehicle has already been despatched for Italy for final tests,'' said Alan E Durante, executive director and president, Automotive Sector, M&M.

The company would initially start with bullet-proofing its range of jeeps and then gradually get into customising other vehicle makes. ''It is totally a customer's prerogative. If he wants his Ambassador or Escort or any other car to be customised or bullet-proofed, we can do it for him.''

He claimed that the bullet-proof vehicle can withstand any attack. ''Even the windshield can withstand an AK-47 attack.''

M&M also recently launched its electric three-wheeler, the 'Bijlee', in New Delhi.

Regarding the three-wheeler, Durante said the vehicle, produced under a Rs 3 million pilot project, would be priced around Rs 200,000. ''A major chunk of this is the import duties and sales tax, which if reduced, can easily bring down the cost of vehicle by around 50 per cent.'' The import content in the vehicle amounts to Rs 120,000.

The vehicle would now be launched in Lucknow in 6-8 weeks, followed by a similar formal launch in Nepal a month later.

The Bijlee, a battery-operated three-wheeler, has a capacity to seat ten people and could cover around 90 km on a single charge. As no permit is required for operating the vehicle, it can be used as a goods carrier, passenger carrier and even a personal vehicle. The running cost for the vehicle is about 50 paise per km.

As per a memorandum of understanding signed between M&M, Delhi Energy Development Authority and Skyline Automobiles, one of M&M dealers, ten Bijlees would ply as Maxicabs on two selected routes in Delhi for a period of six months. The trial test would aim to promote the usage of the Bijlee so as to reduce emission and noise pollution in Delhi.

''The Bijlee is a natural extension of our automotive and utility vehicles division. The six-month trial period would also attempt to demonstrate the social importance of the Bijlee on account of its zero-emission and very low noise pollution,'' he added.

M&M has a technical tie-up with Mitsubishi to make a premium van-type vehicle called the Voyager.

UNI

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