Mahindra

History

Mahindra and Mahindra was founded on 2 October 1945 as Mahindra and Mohammed, a steel trading company, by brothers J.C. Mahindra and K.C. Mahindra along with Ghulam Mohammed. Following the Partition of India in 1947, Mohammed moved to Pakistan and the company was renamed Mahindra and Mahindra in 1948. The automotive journey began when the company secured a license to assemble Willys Jeeps in India, with the first 75 units assembled in Mumbai that same year.

The company launched the CJ-3A in 1954, the first locally manufactured Jeep for the Indian market, and expanded into tractors in 1963. The defining moment came in 2002 with the launch of the Scorpio, India's first indigenously developed modern SUV, created at a fraction of the cost of comparable global platforms. The Scorpio established Mahindra as a genuine SUV manufacturer and remains one of its most successful models.

Mahindra acquired Reva Electric Cars in 2010, entering the EV space early. The company acquired a majority stake in South Korea's SsangYong Motor Company in 2011 but divested by 2020. In 2025 Mahindra launched the BE 6 and XEV 9e electric SUVs on its dedicated INGLO platform co-developed with Volkswagen, marking its most serious EV push. Mahindra is now the world's largest tractor manufacturer by volume.

Innovations

Mahindra's standout achievement is the Scorpio, India's first fully indigenous modern SUV, developed on a budget of approximately US million, proving that Indian engineering could create globally competitive vehicles. The company also pioneered electric mobility in India by acquiring Reva, which had developed India's first production electric car.

The INGLO platform co-developed with Volkswagen using MEB components represents Mahindra's most ambitious technology play. Mahindra has also been a pioneer in connected vehicle technology through its AdrenoX system and holds a strong position in farm equipment automation.