Anand Mahindra, slammed for using foreign cars despite being a “Make in India” advocate, has set the record straight on the vehicles he owns. The chairman of Mahindra Group called out a “fake” and “fabricated” story suggesting that he owns a BMW, a Mercedes, a Porsche and a Ferrari, among other luxury cars.
The clarification comes after X user Rattan Dhillon shared a post asking why Mahindra, 69, drives foreign-made vehicles instead of a Mahindra car. Anand Mahindra’s Mahindra & Mahindra is a major player in the automobile sector, manufacturing a wide range of commercial as well as personal-use vehicles.
“Given Mr. Anand Mahindra’s strong advocacy for “Made in India,” why does he opt to drive BMW and Mercedes cars instead of a Mahindra Thar, which is built by his own company?” Dhillon asked, sharing a screenshot of an online article which claims that the chairman of Mahindra Group owns several foreign-made luxury cars, including a Ferrari California T, a Porsche 911, and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
Anand Mahindra’s clarification
Anand Mahindra responded to the controversy by clarifying that he owns only Mahindra & Mahindra vehicles. The car he currently uses is a Mahindra Scorpio N.
{{/usCountry}}Anand Mahindra responded to the controversy by clarifying that he owns only Mahindra & Mahindra vehicles. The car he currently uses is a Mahindra Scorpio N.
{{/usCountry}}The billionaire industrialist found an ally in Hormazd Sorabjee, the editor of Autocar India. Sorabjee responded to Dhillon saying that Anand Mahindra has owned only Mahindra vehicles for the last three decades.
“It’s not just made-in-India, it’s made-in-Mahindra for Anand Mahindra who has owned & driven ONLY a Mahindra for the last 30+ yrs. He is absolutely true to his brand. I remember his black Armada, & now his daily driver is a red Scorpio. Wonder who makes this rubbish up?!” he tweeted.
“Hormazd, you have covered Mahindra since the time I joined the company. So you are in a unique position to call out this fabricated and fake story. Thank you,” Mahindra replied.
The Mahindra Group chairman set the record straight by listing every car he has ever owned and used. He said that he was taught how to drive by his mother, who owned a light sky-blue colour Premier car (earlier known as Fiat).
After that, it was a soft-top Mahindra CJ3 UV. After he joined Mahindra & Mahindra, Anand Mahindra was allotted a Hindustan Motors Contessa. “The moment we produced the hard-top Armada, I switched to using that,” said Mahindra.
Over the years, Anand Mahindra has used a Bolero, a Scorpio Classic, an XUV 5OO and finally his current car - a Red Scorpio N.
“Since the Armada, I have NEVER owned or used any car of another brand. It is a matter of enormous pride & joy for me to use a car built by our own company,” he said.