Mahindra Tractors is the agricultural machinery division of the Mahindra & Mahindra group and the largest tractor manufacturer in India. It was founded in 1947, built its first tractor in 1963 and now sells around 85,000 machines a year.
Mahindra Tractors at a glance
| Founded | 1947, as the Mahindra Tractor Company |
|---|---|
| Part of | Mahindra & Mahindra, Farm Equipment Sector |
| First tractor | Mahindra B-275, 1963 |
| First tractor partner | International Harvester joint venture |
| Capacity | 150,000 tractors a year |
| Annual sales | about 85,000 units |
| Models developed | more than 390 |
| Dealers in India | more than 1,200 |
| Brands | Mahindra, Mahindra Gujarat (Trakstar), Swaraj |
| Ranges | Oja, Yuvraj, Jivo, XP Plus, SP Plus, Yuvo Tech+, Arjun, Novo |
History of the Mahindra Tractors
Mahindra & Mahindra was founded in 1945 in Ludhiana, Punjab, by J. C. Mahindra, K. C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Muhammad, and took its present name in 1948. The Mahindra Tractor Company was set up in 1947. Its first tractor, the Mahindra B-275, appeared in 1963 as part of a joint venture with International Harvester, which built tractors under the Mahindra name for the Indian market.
Since 1983 Mahindra has been among the leading sellers in India, where its main markets are Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra and the southern states. In 1999 it bought a 60% stake in Gujarat Tractors from the state government, and those tractors are now sold as Trakstar. In 2007 it acquired a majority stake in Punjab Tractors, which merged with Mahindra Tractors in 2009; the Swaraj brand was kept for the Indian market. Mahindra also bought 80% of Jiangling Tractors in China in 2004 for $8 million, and in 2011 began building 15 hp tractors under the Yuvraj name in Rajkot through a joint venture with Deepak Diesel.
Mahindra entered the United States in 1994 as Mahindra USA, which now runs five assembly plants, and Australia in 2005 from a base in Brisbane. Its current tractor families include the Oja, Yuvraj, Jivo, XP Plus, SP Plus, Yuvo Tech+, Arjun and Novo ranges. The individual models most often seen in Indian fields, such as the 275 and 540 DI and the Arjun and Sarpanch families, belong to this programme of more than 390 models developed over six decades.
Design and features
- Scale: the largest tractor manufacturer in India, with capacity for 150,000 machines a year.
- Long model list: more than 390 tractors developed and a dealer network of over 1,200 outlets.
- Several brands: Mahindra, Mahindra Gujarat’s Trakstar and the Swaraj name bought with Punjab Tractors.
- Worldwide assembly: plants in the United States, China and Australia as well as India.
Mahindra Tractors versions
- B-275 (1963): the first Mahindra tractor, built with International Harvester.
- Arjun range: one of the current Mahindra tractor families.
- Jivo and Oja: compact and specialist ranges shown at international shows.
- Swaraj: the Punjab Tractors brand, kept after the 2009 merger.
- Trakstar: the name used for tractors from the former Gujarat Tractors.
Mahindra’s vehicle side is covered by the CJ jeeps, the Bolero and the Scorpio. More in the Mahindra collection.
Sources
- Mahindra Tractors, English Wikipedia: history, capacity, brands, ranges
