INTERVIEW
Mahindra assembling a new strategy in SA and gearing up for all of Africa
Mark Smyth spoke with Arvind Mathew, head of vehicle operations at Mahindra about its plans in SA
Mahindra sent one of its big guns out for the launch of its new Pik-Up in the form of the company’s head of international operations, Arvind Mathew. He arrived with a message that Mahindra is moving into a higher gear, not just in SA but in Africa too. The big news is that the company plans to assemble some of its products in SA from 2018. "We are seriously looking to manufacture pick-up trucks locally. We have board approval, now we have to execute," he told us. That implementation will be quick, with Mathew saying that he has given local executives just six months to find a site and perform an opening ceremony. This means that the company will not move to full production, but rather semi-knockdown (SKD) kits, essentially vehicles built in other international plants which then have some parts removed for re-assembly in SA. Strategically, he says assembly is not the best idea because it is cheaper to import the vehicles, but he points out that you cannot put a price on being a "loca...
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