After fruitless attempts to boost its low sales of utilities and pickup trucks in Brazil, Mahindra’s import, assembly and sales agent Bramont has closed its assembly line in Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, 4,000km/2,500mi north of São Paulo City.
In seven years under 4,000 units were sold, despite a 5,000 vehicles a year production capacity. The first product was the Scorpio, then a Mahindra SUV and last year the MOV (Mahindra Off Road Vehicle).
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Nothing went right and matters only worsened with the sharp slump of the Brazilian market and the sudden dollar valuation.
Assembly process was extremely long and slow. Knocked down (KD) bodies came from India to Pouso Alegre, state of Minas Gerais (whose nearest port is more than 500km/320mi away), were they were welded together and painted.
Next, they were sent to Manaus to have axles, engine and transmission fitted and then they went back to Uberlândia, also in Minas Gerais, for distribution to dealers.
These costly and inefficient logistics, together with vehicles technically dated, resulted n Mahindra finding only a few buyers.
Bramont said the brand would not leave the country entirely. There is a tractor factory in Dois Irmãos, a town far south in Brazil, whose production would be “normal””.
Mahindra-Bramont has retained its Anfavea (automakers association) affiliation but not one unit has been counted in that body’s production and sales statistics in recent months.
