This image is for representation purpose, only.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) have given up on their Brazilian dream (no pun intended) of selling their beloved Scorpio SUV. Actually, the Mahindra Scorpio was christened the MOV (Mahindra Off-road Vehicle) in Latin American market. However, M&M’s Brazilian agent Bramont, has packed up its bags and shut its facilities in Brazil. That, coupled with its mediocre sales of the MOV, Mahindra decided to pull out of the Latin Market for good. That said, their tractor business remains unscathed as Bramont will continue making those.
The Scorpio is called the MOV in Latin America. Rather, was called that.
Mahindra & Mahindra stayed in Brazil for 7 years, but in all that time, could only manage to sell a disappointing 4000 MOVs. Funny part is, the Bramont manufacturing facilities could actually roll-out 5000 units of the SUV, but the dealers simply couldn’t push these out of their showrooms in any significant numbers. Mind you, among the BRIC nations, Brazil is one of the leading markets for the auto industry. But the carmaker’s SUV hardly made any dent in this market, the reason? Firstly, the Scorpio, sorry, the MOV sold in Brazil, wasn’t the newer model we have in India. It was one of the previous iterations of the vehicle. This mean that, despite its EURO V rated motor, leather upholstery, ABS, dual airbags, four-wheel drive, USB connectivity for the stereo and seven seats, the MOV was still behind the curve, as far as the Brazilian market was concerned.
The new Indian Scorpio gets slightly more toys than its beleaguered Latin cousin.
Of course, the complicated knocked-down kit assemble process didn’t help the Indian carmaker and its Brazilian agency. Neither did the hopeless logistics of the CKD kits being shipped to some port which was 500 km away from the actual assembly plant. Add to that the product itself, which wasn’t cutting the mustard for the market, the whole process was doomed. The only silver lining for Mahindra, is that their tractor division in the Latin American country, continues to gather sales without much roadblocks.
Source – Just Auto