Mahindra Group

History

Mahindra & Mahindra was incorporated as Mahindra & Mohammed in 1945 by the brothers J. C. Mahindra and K. C. Mahindra, and Malik Ghulam Muhammad in Ludhiana, Punjab to trade steel. Following the Partition of India in 1947, Malik Ghulam Muhammad left the company and emigrated to Pakistan, where he became the first finance minister of the new state (and later the third Governor General in 1951). In 1948, K. C. Mahindra changed the company's name to Mahindra & Mahindra.

Building on their expertise in the steel industry, the Mahindra brothers began trading steel with UK suppliers. They won a contract to manufacture Willys Jeeps in India and began producing them in 1947. By 1956, the company was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and by 1969 the company became an exporter of utility vehicles and spare parts. Like many Indian companies, Mahindra responded to the restrictions of the Licence Raj by expanding into other industries. Mahindra & Mahindra created a tractor division in 1982 and a tech division (now Tech Mahindra) in 1986. It has continued to diversify its operations through both joint ventures and greenfield investments.

By 1994, the group had become so diverse that it undertook a fundamental reorganization, dividing into six Strategic Business Units: Automotive; Farm Equipment; Infrastructure; Trade and Financial services; Information Technology; and Automotive Components (known internally as Systech). The new managing director, Anand Mahindra, followed this reorganization with a new logo in 2000 and the successful launch of the Mahindra Scorpio (a wholly indigenously designed vehicle) in 2002. Along with an overhaul in production and manufacturing methods, these changes helped make the company more competitive, and since then the Group's reputation and revenues have risen noticeably. Currently, Mahindra & Mahindra is one of the 20 largest companies in India In 2009, Forbes ranked Mahindra among the top 200 most reputable companies in the world.

In January 2011, the Mahindra Group launched a new corporate brand, Mahindra Rise, to unify Mahindra's image across industries and geographies. The brand positions Mahindra products and services as aspirational, supporting customers' ambitions to 'Rise.'

In April 2012, the Mahindra Group expressed interest in purchasing the bankrupt automobile company Saab, and placed several bids for Saab, though was outbid by Saab's new owner National Electric Vehicle Sweden.