M&M To Form Joint Venture With Navistar

Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd would be setting up a joint venture with equity participation from a US company for manufacturing diesel engines in India. The company has signed agreement with International Truck and Engine Corporation, a wholly owned affiliate of Navistar International Corporation, to manufacture engines for medium and heavy commercial vehicles. The joint venture, to be named Mahindra International Engines Ltd (MIEL), will be 51 percent owned by the M & M and 49 percent owned by Navistar, the largest combined commercial truck, school bus and mid-range diesel engine producer in the US. The new company will set up a greenfield project with a capacity to make 25,000 units per annum, ramping up to 40,000 within five years. The plant is scheduled to start production by April 2009.