U.S. Partner Sues Mahindra

Mahindra & Mahindra’s proposed launch of two mid-sized diesel pick-up trucks in the U.S. market has been pushed back following regulatory delays and a legal battle with its U.S. distributor.

Global Vehicles USA is suing Mahindra for terminating its contract in June after it spurned a takeover offer.

“The bottom line here is Mahindra now believes this is a huge project. They want us out of the way so they can go direct and save the money we were going to make,” Global Vehicles chief executive John Perez told the AP.

“When we first signed the contract with Mahindra, they thought this would be a small project in the States, maybe 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles a year,” Perez said, adding that dealers had lined up $300 million in financing to buy as many as 50,000 Mahindra vehicles a year.

Mahindra claims its contract with Global Vehicles expired on June 11.