Ford Mahindra break-up: 5 times when Motown partnerships didn't work
The Mahindra-Ford joint venture isn't the first partnership to fail in the auto world, nor will it be the last. Here are five instances where collaborations in the past have gloriously missed their target
- Jan 4, 2021,
- Updated Jan 5, 2021 12:06 AM IST
The decade was barely a couple of hours old when the first bombshell arrived - Mahindra and Ford decided to put off their joint venture plans. Since October 2019, they had been trying to cobble together a partnership which would have seen Ford exit the Indian market leaving its assets in the JV with Mahindra as the senior partner. The two companies had also planned a series of joint development programmes including common platforms, engines and powertrain but COVID-19 came as a cruel blow. The required investments that made sense a year back, looked highly risky in the post-pandemic world.
Yet, it comes as a shocker. The automotive industry is one that revels in partnerships. Examples like the Renault-Nissan alliance or Hero Honda closer home are testimony to that. Disruptions in the form of electrification, autonomous driving and shared and connected vehicles means the need for sharing investment and technology is even higher. In that context, on paper the deal not only looked like a win-win but also a necessity. Still, this isn't the first partnership to fail nor will it be the last. Here are five instances where collaborations in the past have gloriously missed their target.
An experimental joint venture between US-based Polaris and homegrown Eicher Motors in 2012 spawned the quirky Multix - a personal utility vehicle that can be used as a people mover, goods carrier or also as a back up power generator. It had a power take off point which could generate power up to 3 KW, good enough to light bulbs and other appliances. Targeted largely at small businessmen and entrepreneurs mostly in the rural parts of the country, the 50:50 JV had a full fledged manufacturing facility of 60,000 units per annum built with an investment of Rs 350 crore and spread over 25 acres of land in Kukas near Jaipur in Rajasthan. There were plans to set up a dedicated R&D centre as well. After an initial spurt of demand, sales of the Multix however could not be sustained. In 2012, the JV was shut down and the business liquidated. It is one of those rare occasions where Siddhartha Lal, who owns Eicher Motors and is the chief architect of the revival of Enfield, has got it wrong.
The decade was barely a couple of hours old when the first bombshell arrived - Mahindra and Ford decided to put off their joint venture plans. Since October 2019, they had been trying to cobble together a partnership which would have seen Ford exit the Indian market leaving its assets in the JV with Mahindra as the senior partner. The two companies had also planned a series of joint development programmes including common platforms, engines and powertrain but COVID-19 came as a cruel blow. The required investments that made sense a year back, looked highly risky in the post-pandemic world.
Yet, it comes as a shocker. The automotive industry is one that revels in partnerships. Examples like the Renault-Nissan alliance or Hero Honda closer home are testimony to that. Disruptions in the form of electrification, autonomous driving and shared and connected vehicles means the need for sharing investment and technology is even higher. In that context, on paper the deal not only looked like a win-win but also a necessity. Still, this isn't the first partnership to fail nor will it be the last. Here are five instances where collaborations in the past have gloriously missed their target.
An experimental joint venture between US-based Polaris and homegrown Eicher Motors in 2012 spawned the quirky Multix - a personal utility vehicle that can be used as a people mover, goods carrier or also as a back up power generator. It had a power take off point which could generate power up to 3 KW, good enough to light bulbs and other appliances. Targeted largely at small businessmen and entrepreneurs mostly in the rural parts of the country, the 50:50 JV had a full fledged manufacturing facility of 60,000 units per annum built with an investment of Rs 350 crore and spread over 25 acres of land in Kukas near Jaipur in Rajasthan. There were plans to set up a dedicated R&D centre as well. After an initial spurt of demand, sales of the Multix however could not be sustained. In 2012, the JV was shut down and the business liquidated. It is one of those rare occasions where Siddhartha Lal, who owns Eicher Motors and is the chief architect of the revival of Enfield, has got it wrong.