Mahindra — From Licence-Built Jeeps to India's SUV Maker

Mahindra at a glance

Origins: steel traders in Ludhiana

Mahindra & Mohammed was founded on 2 October 1945 in Ludhiana by the brothers J. C. and K. C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Muhammad as a steel trading company. In 1948 Ghulam Muhammad moved to the newly formed Pakistan. The Mahindras kept the "M&M" initials and renamed the company Mahindra & Mahindra. The group's headquarters are in Worli, Mumbai.

Jeeps under licence

Mahindra's road to vehicles ran through the Jeep. In 1947 it imported Willys Jeeps for military use, and in 1954 it began assembling the Jeep CJ3 under licence; light commercial vehicles followed in 1965. Mahindra kept building Jeep-based vehicles under licence even as the American brand passed to American Motors in 1970 and to Chrysler in 1987. Licence-built CJ variants such as the 4x4 Brave, Chief and Baja appeared in December 1989. The story of the American original is told in the history of Jeep.

Tractors came in the early 1960s and became a business of their own. Mahindra bought Gujarat Tractors in 1999 and Punjab Tractors, now the Swaraj division, in 2007. According to the Mahindra article it is the world's largest tractor maker by volume, with more than 200,000 sold a year and over 2.1 million in total.

The Jeep-derived range gave way to Mahindra's own utility vehicles: the Armada of 1993–2001 and, from 2000, the Bolero, still on sale in 2025. A joint venture with Renault, started in 2005, ended in April 2010 when Mahindra bought out its partner, though Renault still supplies engines and gearboxes.

Bolero and Scorpio

The Scorpio, launched on 20 June 2002, changed Mahindra's image. It was the company's first model built for the global market and was developed in an unusual way: Mahindra set the design, performance targets and budget, while suppliers designed, engineered and tested almost all the major systems. The project, led by managers with Western industry experience such as Pawan Goenka and Alan Durante, took five years from concept to launch. Engines included a 2.6-litre diesel with 81 kW (109 hp) and a 2.0-litre Renault petrol with 87 kW (116 hp).

In Europe the Scorpio was sold as the Mahindra Goa, with first sales in Italy in 2003, and a pickup version, the Pik-Up, reached Australia in 2009. The Xylo people carrier followed in January 2009 and the XUV500 in September 2011. The SsangYong takeover of 2011 and the purchase of Reva Electric in 2010 added a Korean SUV maker and an electric car specialist to the group.

Thar, XUV700 and the SUV boom

The Thar, launched on 4 October 2010, replaced the Mahindra Major and kept the look of the Jeep CJ that Mahindra had built for decades. The second generation, introduced on 15 August 2020 and sold from October 2020, became a hit: more than 185,000 had been sold by August 2024, and the five-door Thar Roxx followed on 15 August 2024.

The Mahindra XUV700, launched on 14 August 2021 and built in Chakan, brought a 2.0-litre turbo petrol with 149 kW (203 PS) and a 2.2-litre diesel with up to 136 kW (185 PS). It earned five stars for adult occupants from Global NCAP in 2021 and went on sale in Australia in June 2023; a facelift, the XUV 7XO, followed on 5 January 2026. The new Scorpio-N of 27 June 2022 shares its engines with the Thar and XUV700 and reached 100,000 units in February 2024.

Pininfarina, SsangYong and the wider group

In December 2015 Mahindra and its sister company Tech Mahindra agreed to buy 76.06% of Pininfarina for €168 million, bringing the Italian design house into the group. Mahindra also took over Peugeot Motocycles in stages between 2014 and 2019 and held 51% of a Ford India joint venture from October 2019 until January 2021.

SsangYong was less successful. Mahindra was chosen as preferred bidder in August 2010 and completed the purchase of a majority stake in February 2011 for US$463.6 million. Later it stopped funding the Korean company because of its debts, and SsangYong filed for receivership on 21 December 2020. A consortium led by KG Group took control in November 2022, and the company was renamed KG Mobility in March 2023. In the United States, Mahindra Automotive North America opened a plant in Detroit on 20 November 2017 and launched the Roxor off-road vehicle on 2 March 2018.

Electric cars and Mahindra today

Mahindra's electric experience goes back to Reva, in which it took 55% in 2010, later 100%, and which became Mahindra Electric Mobility in 2016. In 2024 the company launched two electric SUVs, the BE 6 and the XEV 9e, built in Chakan. In 2025 Mahindra produced 594,000 passenger vehicles. Anand Mahindra chairs the group, and Anish Shah has been managing director and chief executive since April 2021. All Mahindra models in the catalogue are listed under Mahindra; the Korean brand it once controlled is in the SsangYong catalogue, and the American original in the Jeep catalogue. Off-roaders such as the Thar are compared in the best off-road vehicles.

Mahindra timeline

Landmark Mahindra models