While some people are anticipating the launch of the Mahindra diesel trucks formerly called Appalachian on February next year, a few people are more interested in the diesel hybrids they also announced they would bring to America. Unfortunately, because of the delay in their US debut, it is likely that the introduction of the first diesel hybrid trucks in America will start in 2011 instead of 2010. Global Vehicles said Mahindra told them that the hybrid version will come out one year after the standard diesel version. 2011 seems like a really long time from today, so for now, here are some details to expect about the Mahindra diesel hybrids, just to give you something to look forward to.

Mahindra will be coming out with two-door and four-door mid-size diesel hybrid pickups much like their diesel-only TR20 and TR40 as well as diesel-only and diesel hybrid powertrains for their Scorpio SUV. The diesel hybrids are expected to have better fuel economy than the 30 MPG produced by their diesel-only pickups. Mahindra’s Senior VP for Product Development Dr. Arum Jaura told AutoblogGreen that the diesel hybrids will have a price premium of less than $5,000 above their diesel-only counterparts.

Inside the hood, the mid-size trucks will be equipped with a slightly modified version of the ‘mHawk’ 2.2 liter inline 4-cylinder diesel engine from the Scorpio SUV they introduced in India just recently. Power ratings are expected to be in between 145 to 150 horsepower and approximately 300 foot-pounds of torque. Mahindra developed the ‘mHawk’ with the help of Bosch and AVL to be released in the US later.

Along with a modified ‘mHawk’, the vehicles will have a standard six-speed automatic transmission, as well as a floor mounted console shifter. They will also be equipped with steering wheel mounted paddles so that the gearbox can be manually shifted.

Dr. Jaura is not new to the design of hybrid technology. He used to be Ford’s Head of Vehicle Engineering for the Escape Hybrid Platform before he transferred to Mahindra years later.

A lot has been said about the Mahindra trucks having clean diesel engines, but what do we really know about them? Both the TR20 and TR40 are going to be powered by turbocharged modern Common Rail diesel engines Mahindra developed, with the assistance of Bosch and AVL. Mahindra calls it CRDe technology and it uses the same principle as other common rail engines made and used by various auto manufacturers such as Ford, Toyota, GM, Mitsubishi and a lot more. To me, modern Common Rail diesels mean no heating time, less engine noise and lower emissions.

To repeat what we wrote in Mahindra TR20 and TR40 Features, these new-generation clean diesels are capable of emitting as little as 97% less sulfur emissions than their old-school counterparts and give off virtually no sooty particulates. Furthermore, they produce less than 30% of the greenhouse gases produced by gas engines per mile.

More good news for the environmentally concerned consumers, Mahindra is working on these clean burning diesels to be able to comply with the tough T2B5 standards for both particulate and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, especially for diesel engines. To control the NOx emissions, they will be using the urea-selective catalytic reduction (UCR) solution, which may require periodic urea refills. The urea refill will most likely coincide with the normal service interval. Mahindra offers a four-year, 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty on these vehicles and although not yet 100% confirmed, John Perez, CEO of US importer Global Vehicles USA said in an interview by PickupTrucks.com that Mahindra may throw in free maintenance and urea refills during that four-year period. The Mahindra trucks will be serviced where it was purchased, which would be in any of the 400 dealers Global Vehicles is shooting for.

I don’t know about you, but this free maintenance thing, sounds promising. Mahindra could actually use this to their advantage since one of the biggest concerns of customers about them is their reliability. With the clean-burning engine and the possible free maintenance, I think Mahindra vehicles are really shaping up to be quite competitive in the US market. Global Vehicles USA may actually reach their 45,000-unit target for the first year of sales.

We just launched a forum for all of you that wish to discuss the Mahindra Trucks more openly and talk to people that own them. There is a general forum as well as forums that are specifically dedicated to the TR20, the TR40 and the Scorpio.

In the “Mahindra Truck Articles” portion of the forum you will see summaries of articles from Mahindra Truck Blog.

The name of the site is Mahindra Truck Forum, and you can get there by clicking on that link.

Hope you enjoy the forum!

A lot of people are aware of the advantages of diesel engines for towing and hauling, as well as in fuel economy. A while back, Ford, GM, Chrysler and Toyota announced their plans to produce trucks powered by modern diesel engines for their half-ton models. When Indian automaker Mahindra expressed their intent to sell diesel trucks in the United States, a great deal of people quickly dismissed them. However, the global economic crisis unexpectedly hit the automotive business. GM and Chrysler went into bankruptcy, while the others postponed their initial plans of creating compact diesel trucks because of last year’s spike in diesel fuel prices. On the other hand, Mahindra stayed strong and pursued their interest in the US market.

Mahindra’s quest to penetrate the highly competitive truck industry will be no easy feat. After all, many people are wary of spending on a vehicle with a brand they don’t know with a parts and service network they’re unsure of the reliability. However, Mahindra is dead set on finding a unique place in the US market, one that has virtually no competitors and with a demand that the other auto manufacturers are unable to address.

The new Mahindra diesel trucks are said to be priced starting at 22,000 and 25,000, for the 2-door and 4-door models respectively. The 2-door alone is marked $6,000 higher than the Toyota Tacoma 2-door pickup, currently the bestselling mid-size pickup in America. Provided that diesel engines indeed cost more to produce, will the light duty pickup buyers be enticed enough to consider the Mahindra models with that price? The Mahindra pickups will be able to haul an extra 1,300 pounds, which is almost twice the capacity the Tacoma can manage. They will also have a 7.5-foot long bed giving customers more bed space and have a payload capacity of 2,700 pounds. The Mahindra pickups will also be getting 20% more fuel economy than their light duty counterparts. But will these numbers be able to compensate for the significant price margin, enough to steal potential Tacoma/Frontier customers away?

Many people are reserving judgment until the actual vehicles become available next year. Although a lot of people think the idea of spending more than $20,000 for a truck made by a brand with no track record is quite scary and almost crazy. But Mahindra Tractors does have a pretty good reputation and people who have experienced owning or driving them will probably be the first buyers of Mahindra trucks. Hopefully, they will get good feedback and prove their reliability, so that Mahindra trucks can eventually become a huge player in the US market.

If like me, you’re one of those people keeping an eye out for Mahindra’s mid-size trucks scheduled to be released next year, you might want to sign up at Mahindra North America to get a chance to be one of the first few people to test drive the new and improved Mahindra diesel trucks.

A lot of people are holding out on buying new vehicles in anticipation of the release of these high quality clean and green pickups for an alternative to the vehicles available on the US market today so Mahindra’s taking names through their website to give interested people a chance to get some seat time before their 2-door and 4-door diesel pickups even hit the stores. Details are quite scarce and Mahindra didn’t specify which specific cities they will be parading at or when this event will happen but you may actually turn out to be one of the lucky ones so head on over to Mahindra North America to get your chance for an exclusive invitation from Mahindra now.

We’ve said it before. People are open to the idea of having a basic truck with only the essentials and not the bloated trucks that other manufacturers offer. The only thing people are curious about is how they will rack up against the other smaller trucks available in the United States today. They wonder if they are indeed dependable and tough enough for basic towing and hauling.

The key features of the Mahindra four-door truck are as follows: 2.2L clean-burning, fuel efficient four-cylinder Common Rail diesel engine, best in class payload of up to 2,633 lbs, hauls 1.32 tons, six-speed automatic transmission, electronic stability control and AM/FM/CD/USB audio system with MP3 playback, SD card slot and iPod adapter. It seats five people and is equipped with 4-wheel ABS brakes and has a (Edit: 58.6-inch) bed length.

On the other hand, Mahindra’s two-door offers the same 2.2L 4-cylinder Common Rail Diesel with 2,765-lb payload, hauls 1.38 tons, six-speed transmission, AM/FM/CD/USB audio system with MP3 playback, SD card slot and iPod adapter and an extra long bed measuring 7.5 feet long. It seats two people and also comes with electronic stability control for better handling and 4-wheel ABS brakes.

Mahindra promises to deliver 30 miles per gallon in the highway and comes with a 4-year, 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper guarantee unlike the usual 10-year, 100,000 mile guarantee offered by other manufacturers. In addition, these Common Rail engines are much cleaner than what their competitor brands are equipped with. They emit 97% fewer Sulfur than older diesel engines with almost no soot particulates. They also produce 30% less greenhouse gases per mile than gas engines with the durability and extra torque diesel engines come with. All these, while experiencing a 20 to 40% increase in fuel efficiency.

On paper, the Mahindra trucks are shaping up pretty competitively against the other mid-size trucks and SUVs available in the US market. We’re very curious to see how well they will actually do when they are driven. February is just a few months away anyway.

Mahindra is working on building a network of about 300 dealerships across North America. They’re taking advantage of Chrysler dealers that recently closed shop and negotiating with some Ford dealerships as well. If you want to know how you can get your hands on the Mahindra TR20 and TR40 when it goes on sale starting February, here’s a list of a few known dealers all over the US.

Acton Lincoln Mercury 196 Great Road (Route 2A), Acton, MA 01720
Allan Vigil Ford 6790 Mt. Zion Boulevard, Morrow, GA 30260
DFW Mahindra 2925 E. Division Street, Arlington, TX 76011
Paradise Mahindra Lansing, MI
Safeway Chevrolet 1320 Highway 117 South, Burgaw, NC 28425
Smith Motor Company of Hattiesburg 6793 Highway 98 West, Hattiesburg, MS 39402-8444
Taylor Automotive Group 6100 W. Central Avenue, Toledo, OH 43615

February is still a long time from now, but these dealers have already been working overtime to market the Mahindra trucks. Stand by for more updates or additional car dealers that pop up so that you can get one in your area.

Mahindra is nearing its launch on February next year and talks about their brand and products are all over cyberspace. While it’s being durability tested in Wisconsin, we’ve listed down some key points in some of the internet chatter concerning the Mahindra brand and their TR20 and TR40.

Going through what the people are saying, there truly is a clamor for compact trucks, which most car manufacturers have been neglecting. Right now, only the Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins are available today that match up to the Mahindra pickups. Some people claim that for a nation that’s been branded the best at making trucks, the American auto manufacturers sure are ignoring a huge segment of truck buyers looking for a utility vehicle that’s more practical than the oversized pickups dominating the market at the moment. The fact is, not everyone who buys trucks is a contractor. A lot of people just prefer the towing capability and utility that sedans and SUVs do not offer and a small pickup like this one will allow them to maneuver and park easier, not to mention get better gas mileage.

Some are in the middle about them having diesel engines. Compared to the $3.69/gallon gasoline, diesel has consistently sold for more than gas and priced at $4.15/gallon on average all over the United States. Although some are concerned about the price of diesel, others prefer the additional torque that diesel engines offer.

Furthermore, a lot of people have voiced out their concerns about Mahindra. Many people are concerned about the TR20 and TR40’s design. People have described it as looking retro or dated and prefer a sleeker design than something that looks like it was built in the 90’s. People also think that the Mahindra trucks are overpriced starting at $22,000 compared to the reliable and trusted Ford Ranger which costs just a little over $16,000. Because Mahindra is not widely recognized and are very new to the US auto market, people are also unsure about whether or not they provide a good After Sales support for their products, which may become a huge issue later on.

Mahindra looks like they are exactly on point about selling compact trucks and offering an alternative to the US market. However, there seems to be a lot of things that they still need to work out before their launch, which is just a few months away.

Mahindra & Mahindra is now looking to acquire a manufacturing plant in the United States to produce the TR20, the TR40, the Scorpio and future models. Because of the excessive Chicken Tax, which imposes a 25% tax on imported trucks, Mahindra wants to “explore various options” to find the most economically-feasible option for them.

Mahindra vehicles are currently sold in 22 countries worldwide, but the Indian automaker is targeting the US as its largest export market in the next few years. Mahindra is offering a more fuel efficient and competitively priced option to the US market. The TR20 and the TR40 will retail for $22,000 and $25,000 respectively.

Mahindra is yet to announce which facilities or areas they are considering, but people have been speculating about the possibility of reviving the Nummi plant in Fremont, California, which Toyota has given up on. However, it might be a long shot since it’s very far from their headquarters in Georgia. They might also look into former GM and Chrysler dealers which closed down recently.

According to Larry Daniel, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Global Vehicles USA, Inc., US distributor of Mahindra, the new sales launch date of the Mahindra trucks in North America will now be on February 2010. Mahindra & Mahindra’s US debut has been moved twice. Global Vehicles originally announced the trucks launch to be in spring 2009, then moved to fall 2009 after US vehicle consultants and retailers recommended nearly 200 product changes to their trucks. Now, they’re expecting to sell the vehicles starting February next year.

Even though the changes being made to the trucks have been running ahead of schedule, the Indian automaker decided to delay the US launch to make sure that both the TR20 and TR40 trucks will be able to comply with strict quality and safety standards and ready for the discerning customers in the US. Included in these modifications are a redesigned hood and rear end, a new grille and a new front bumper guard.

The Mahindra trucks will be equipped with a 2.2 four-cylinder diesel engine and made available in both standard and crew cabs.