The Hindu Business Line : Roadmap for Mahindra’s US entry with Scorpio

Mumbai, June 30 In April 2007, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) announced its plans to enter the US, the world’s largest pick-up market and a prominent market for SUVs (sports utility vehicles), with its range of models developed on the Scorpio platform. What does it take to sell a product in such a market?

According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Web site ( www.epa.gov) on rules and regulations for importing a vehicle, the company should be able to demonstrate the vehicle is a US version.

US version

A US version vehicle is manufactured in conformity with federal emission requirements; in accordance with a specific EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) certificate of conformity and with a label in the engine compartment that states that the vehicle conforms to all US EPA regulations.

The EPA vehicle emissions label is entitled “Vehicle Emission Control Information” and will contain the name and trademark of the manufacturer and an unconditional statement of compliance with EPA emission regulations.

Dr Arun Jaura, Senior Vice-President, Automotive Sector R&D and Product Development, M&M, said that the company is aiming to meet Euro-V emission standards for its vehicle range that are likely to come to effect by 2008-09 in the US.

For that, various developments are currently under process with primary focus on critical components such as injectors and catalyst converters and an expected modification in the exhaust system too.

Tier-I suppliers, especially those that have a presence in India and the US market and are well known with the emission standards, are helping M&M in product development of the components.

New standards

Besides these emission standards, the vehicle has to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Web site ( www.nhtsa.dot.gov), these would include 29 standards on ‘Crash Avoidance’ like standards for rear view mirror, control and displays, theft protection, etc; ‘Crash Worthiness’ standards (16) for occupant crash protection, seat belt assemblies, roof crush resistance etc; ‘Post Crash’ standards like fuel system integrity, flammability of interior materials, etc.

There are other regulations that govern FMVSS like manufacturer identification, vehicle identification number, etc.

The FMVSS standard is a self-certification process and therefore the onus is on the original equipment manufacturer to comply with them, said Dr Jaura.

These standards just make the car viable to sell in the market, but in order to meet market demands and make it a lucrative proposition in the world’s most competitive market, the company has identified diesel-run vehicles (backed with 4-year, 60,000 mile warranty) as their forte in the gasoline driven SUV and light truck market.

However, the company has to undergo various modifications to its present generation of Scorpio models.

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