In the End, It’s All About the Truck

Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has made it clear that they no longer consider US-based importer Global Vehicles (GV) as a business partner, and have spent the last four months trying to sever their once amicable relationship with them. Recently, Global Vehicles’ CEO John Perez has spoken out, and has made it clear that he feels that Mahindra has abused elements of a contract which were negotiated in good faith. This all takes place while dealers look on and wonder if they will be speaking with Alpharetta or Mumbai once the dust has settled over this battle to sell the first India-made vehicle in the US.


Side with one company or the other if you will, but it all comes back to the truck. It may not be an earth-shattering vehicle. Maybe it’s not even worth fighting for, but without a doubt, it is a groundbreaking truck on many levels.

The recurring rally cry heard from nearly all of the Mahindra pickup lovers and haters out there is that the US market is primed and ready for a fuel-efficient, straight forward, reasonably priced, compact-to-midsize, diesel pickup truck.

After reading countless article comments and forum threads over the past three years, it has become crystal clear that Americans are ready for this product. It becomes equally clear that while there are plenty of fans dedicated to the Mahindra TR20 and TR40 pickups, there are many more consumers that do not care which manufacturer produces this type of vehicle. They just want the compact diesel pickup concept to become a tangible reality so that they can put their money down on it as soon as possible.

The he-said/she-said reports from both sides are likely to be silent for a while. Today, arbitration between Global Vehicles and Mahindra & Mahindra begins in International Court in London (per the original 2006 agreement). No matter how the arbitration is resolved; America has spoken, and we are ready for a new breed of small pickup trucks.

We want your truck, Mahindra. And we want Global Vehicles to supply reliable US-based support. But keep in mind that if you don’t make this truck happen soon, one of your established competitors surely will.