On first reading, the announcement that Mahindra is to launch a small, diesel pick up truck onto the US market would seem to be a triumph of unfortunate timing.
But.
Notwithstanding the impact that the falling demand for pick up trucks is now severe enough to have an impact on companies such as Nissan, which saw its Q2 profit dip by 43 per cent as a result of US truck demand falling by 20 per cent, and not withstanding the fact that the gasoline / diesel price differential is now approaching 75 cents per gallon in gasoline's favour, we can't help but wonder if Mahindra hasn't chosen a rather good time to launch.
That there is a lifestyle market for pick up trucks within the US is beyond doubt. But there is also a strong, professional market, for whom the pick up truck is merely a work item. Price sensitive and presumably brand less aware, these are the buyers that Mahindra should be aiming at. Whether the Indian OEM would also be wise to buy the Hummer business from GM remains another story however; two weeks ago, we watched with amusement as a television ad offered no money down and five years interest free payments on a H3, suggesting that the market for the leviathan SUV is sluggish at best. Most Hummer drivers now give an appearance of sadness mixed with embarrassment as they chug along from one $4.50 gas station to the next. However, if GM offers Mahindra enough, then who knows. Of course, GM reports its Q2 today, and we would imagine that the Samaritans have probably called in extra manpower to deal with the likely rush of calls from stockholders.
But it isn't just Mahindra that Detroit has to be wary of; here's a report from our old friends at Tiger Truck, which has opened its plant this week in Poteau, Oklahoma. Tiger is the first Chinese designed CV to be built in the US, but not, we suspect, the last.