Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra has declined to directly answer questions about local reports it is discussing the Jeep brand with Chrysler.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
M&M vice-chairman and MD Anand Mahindra would tell the Economic Times of India only: “We are talking to automakers around the world to discover whether there are opportunities.”
He added: “Will we do more car projects, doubtless. Will we do it with someone else, yes, maybe. But it’s certain we won’t do cars on our own. The auto industry of the future will be collaboration-driven for the benefits of scale and synergy and that’s in the DNA of Indian companies.”
The Indian company has a historical connection with Jeep, having once distributed them in India, while its first products were based on the original Willys Jeep platform. The company continued to offer a small, simple, four cylinder line of Jeep-like models long after the US ‘original’ had gone upmarket with bigger engines and more equipment.
