Made in India Vehicles
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Bagee
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M&M XUV500- Production and development insights
Oct 19, 2011
Mahindra & Mahindra’s ‘global’ XUV500 is the most advanced vehicle from the company’s stable since the Scorpio. The four-year development journey for the XUV500 was an interesting challenge for the team.
M&M pumped in around Rs 850 crore in the XUV500 project and went flat-out to achieve good quality standards. “We spent almost two months to perfect the open-shut mechanism of the utility box on the dashboard,” says Rajan Wadhera, head product planning and technology. Efforts in climbing the curve in fit and finish included reducing the gaps in various parts of the body. For example, the margin for gaps and flushness in the body in the XUV500 was set at 4mm, which is much less than the margin on the Scorpio when its production started in 2002.
“Life would have also been simpler if I had the liberty of increasing the price by another Rs 2-3 lakh,” recalls Wadhera. The XUV500’s specifications had to be built to a fixed cost. “One example is the infotainment system. Trying to pack in as many functionalities was tough. You can choose a Harman Kardon system or even a system like the Audi Q5's. But that would add to cost significantly,” adds Wadhera.
To ensure reliability, M&M also tested 250 prototypes in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, USA, UAE, Brazil, China, Sweden, UK, Germany and Africa, clocking approximately 2.35 million kilometres (India included).
M&M’s Nasik plant, where the XUV500 is built, has production processes from Ford and Renault — its former joint venture partners. MAPS, Mahindra's production system, combines some of the company’s own processes with the best bits of Ford and Renault processes. With SsangYong now a part of M&M, going forward, the production system may include best practices of the Korean manufacturer too.
“In MAPS, the focus revolves around the worker. He is the king. You have to provide equipment, conveyors and facilities in a manner that gives him less fatigue and is ergonomically friendly. In Nasik, we had five to six stages where people could start working with their hands. For example, in the XUV500 line, there are a lot of electricals which are unlike the Scorpio, and there are a lot of blind spots, so we created a tool to help them with this,” explains Vijay Dhongde, CEO, Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers, who is responsible for the entire Chakan plant operations.
In the run-up to the XUV’s production, Dhongde and his team had the task of training the workers not only for assembling skills but also achieving high quality. As part of the orientation process, the employees working in the XUV500’s production were asked not to go to other production lines at Chakan. (The plant also rolls out the Maxximo, Genio and Navistar trucks). “We ensured that these guys don’t move to the commercial-vehicles side of things,” says Dhongde.
Currently, the XUV500 line can roll out 2,000 vehicles per month in a single shift. The plan is to ramp up gradually while ensuring good production quality levels. For example, every vehicle does a 50km drive after the assembly instead of the usual 10km drive for various checks. “Our objective is to achieve best-in-class fit and finish,” says Sanjiv Anand, senior general manager at Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers.
---------- Post added at 01:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:19 PM ---------
Oct 19, 2011
Mahindra & Mahindra’s ‘global’ XUV500 is the most advanced vehicle from the company’s stable since the Scorpio. The four-year development journey for the XUV500 was an interesting challenge for the team.
M&M pumped in around Rs 850 crore in the XUV500 project and went flat-out to achieve good quality standards. “We spent almost two months to perfect the open-shut mechanism of the utility box on the dashboard,” says Rajan Wadhera, head product planning and technology. Efforts in climbing the curve in fit and finish included reducing the gaps in various parts of the body. For example, the margin for gaps and flushness in the body in the XUV500 was set at 4mm, which is much less than the margin on the Scorpio when its production started in 2002.
“Life would have also been simpler if I had the liberty of increasing the price by another Rs 2-3 lakh,” recalls Wadhera. The XUV500’s specifications had to be built to a fixed cost. “One example is the infotainment system. Trying to pack in as many functionalities was tough. You can choose a Harman Kardon system or even a system like the Audi Q5's. But that would add to cost significantly,” adds Wadhera.
To ensure reliability, M&M also tested 250 prototypes in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, USA, UAE, Brazil, China, Sweden, UK, Germany and Africa, clocking approximately 2.35 million kilometres (India included).
M&M’s Nasik plant, where the XUV500 is built, has production processes from Ford and Renault — its former joint venture partners. MAPS, Mahindra's production system, combines some of the company’s own processes with the best bits of Ford and Renault processes. With SsangYong now a part of M&M, going forward, the production system may include best practices of the Korean manufacturer too.
“In MAPS, the focus revolves around the worker. He is the king. You have to provide equipment, conveyors and facilities in a manner that gives him less fatigue and is ergonomically friendly. In Nasik, we had five to six stages where people could start working with their hands. For example, in the XUV500 line, there are a lot of electricals which are unlike the Scorpio, and there are a lot of blind spots, so we created a tool to help them with this,” explains Vijay Dhongde, CEO, Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers, who is responsible for the entire Chakan plant operations.
In the run-up to the XUV’s production, Dhongde and his team had the task of training the workers not only for assembling skills but also achieving high quality. As part of the orientation process, the employees working in the XUV500’s production were asked not to go to other production lines at Chakan. (The plant also rolls out the Maxximo, Genio and Navistar trucks). “We ensured that these guys don’t move to the commercial-vehicles side of things,” says Dhongde.
Currently, the XUV500 line can roll out 2,000 vehicles per month in a single shift. The plan is to ramp up gradually while ensuring good production quality levels. For example, every vehicle does a 50km drive after the assembly instead of the usual 10km drive for various checks. “Our objective is to achieve best-in-class fit and finish,” says Sanjiv Anand, senior general manager at Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers.
---------- Post added at 01:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:19 PM ---------
INDIAN SOLDIER
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aree bhaiya,,,,, hamne to ee book kerwayi hai,,,,, kasam se maazaa aai gwa,,,,, On road INR 13,22,000/- Transmission problem hai,,,,, wo isse thik kerwayi ke de denge
Bagee
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Volkswagen may bring Seat to India
The VW Group is looking at bringing its Seat brand to India to further increase its footprint on the sub-continent. With the launch of Seat products in India, the VW Group could benefit from even greater economies of scale which is crucial in driving down costs and increasing market share.
However, VW concedes that it will be difficult for the Spanish brand to establish a unique identity in the Indian market, especially since there is already an overlap between VW and Skoda products. But VW is hoping that Seat’s distinctive styling and Mediterranean character will find favour with younger, free-wheeling car buyers.
Seat is all set to make its debut in China, after which India is likely the next big market for the Spanish brand. While VW’s worldwide sales have gone up by 12.1 percent this year, Seat has shown a slower growth rate of 2.3 percent. Entering emerging markets seems to be the way to boost numbers.
Seat has a model line-up that could be introduced in India – the Ibiza hatchback is in the range of the VW Polo, the Exeo saloon falls between the Jetta and the Passat and the Alhambra MPV can take on the Toyota Innova and the Tata Aria.
Severed ties with Maruti have dented VW’s immediate progress in the high-volume small car market, but VW hopes to fix that with the Up! hatchback recently revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Skoda has already revealed the Citigo, based on the Up! and Seat too has its own version called the Nuevo Mii (pictured).
All these high-volume models share the same platform, engines and lots of other components, which could result in huge economies of scale. Leveraging the Group’s brand strength is the way forward for German automaker which is moving closer to fulfilling its ambitions of becoming the world’s biggest car maker.
To achieve this goal, the VW Group is planning to invest a staggering $86.4 billion (Rs 4.3 lakh crore) in the next five years. From new plants to vehicles to R&D centres, the Group will invest in all its nine brands, which include VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat among others.
The VW Group is looking at bringing its Seat brand to India to further increase its footprint on the sub-continent. With the launch of Seat products in India, the VW Group could benefit from even greater economies of scale which is crucial in driving down costs and increasing market share.
However, VW concedes that it will be difficult for the Spanish brand to establish a unique identity in the Indian market, especially since there is already an overlap between VW and Skoda products. But VW is hoping that Seat’s distinctive styling and Mediterranean character will find favour with younger, free-wheeling car buyers.
Seat is all set to make its debut in China, after which India is likely the next big market for the Spanish brand. While VW’s worldwide sales have gone up by 12.1 percent this year, Seat has shown a slower growth rate of 2.3 percent. Entering emerging markets seems to be the way to boost numbers.
Seat has a model line-up that could be introduced in India – the Ibiza hatchback is in the range of the VW Polo, the Exeo saloon falls between the Jetta and the Passat and the Alhambra MPV can take on the Toyota Innova and the Tata Aria.
Severed ties with Maruti have dented VW’s immediate progress in the high-volume small car market, but VW hopes to fix that with the Up! hatchback recently revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Skoda has already revealed the Citigo, based on the Up! and Seat too has its own version called the Nuevo Mii (pictured).
All these high-volume models share the same platform, engines and lots of other components, which could result in huge economies of scale. Leveraging the Group’s brand strength is the way forward for German automaker which is moving closer to fulfilling its ambitions of becoming the world’s biggest car maker.
To achieve this goal, the VW Group is planning to invest a staggering $86.4 billion (Rs 4.3 lakh crore) in the next five years. From new plants to vehicles to R&D centres, the Group will invest in all its nine brands, which include VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat among others.
takeiteasy
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It seems He has visited Tata's asking Tata to bring Nano to Brazil. Ripe Time for Nano to go Global. More Than Indian market, many developing Economies may be successful market for Nano.
GURU DUTT
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i think tata should do something about the clutch first rest the car is great i rode it delhi -rohtang - delhi & other than hard cluth there was nothing to complain, thanks .
Frank Martin
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Ashok Leyland DOST
I REMEMBER FAMOUS SLOGAN OF VIETNAAM- "HOCHI MINH HO CHI MINH WE SHALL FIGHT WE SHALL WIN"
patentneer
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Ashok Leyland DOST
...
Gr8 looks .
Dost is Rs. 1 lakh above Tata Ace, and more Vs. Mahindra, Piaggio Ape etc.
Question is why, what's the business case other than fleet completion for other AL owners ?
I like the Dost but can't get the business case rationale for the extra lakh, help.
:offtopic
Whatever happened to Mahindra old style Jeep mini trucks or Mahindra Mitsubishi mini trucks anybody know? Dost reminds me of Mahindra Mitsu mini truck, anybody know how much; methinks it was back in the 80's no.
illusion8
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love the scorpio, have driven close 2.5 lakh KM on this.
Frank Martin
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Well definitely the Dost is expensive than the Ace, but the extra 1 lakh does bring some serious stuff here..The Dost, as is the requirement for the Indian LCV scene, comes with a 1.5 liter diesel engine which has got 3 cylinders. This 3 pot motor produces 53 Bhp of power at 3300 rpm while the maximum torque of 150 Nm comes in as low as 1600 rpm. A nice 5 speed manual gearbox complements the tuned for driveability engine. Even when the vehicle was fully laden with cargo, the engine seemed sprightly enough for more. All this while the airconditioner was on. 0-100 kmph comes up in 18.5 seconds. Yes, this vehicle did cross 100 kmph. The top speed that it could achieve was 131 kmph after which the engine started sounding trashy enough. This LCV can cruise all day long at 100 kmph without any sort of strain to the powertrain. The fuel efficiency that could see in the multi information display was a cool 14.3 kmpl. The fuel efficiency would be one factor that small time operators would definitely have in mind as a priority. There is no ABS equipped variant to go with and the Dost LCV does step off its line when braked hard. However, when fully laden, some sort of sembelance does creepin and it is far more stable. There are no airbags on offer as well, however, the front bumper has got a bull bar inside it and this should help somewhat...So i think the customer wont be disappointed for buying it only when he dont want the 16bhp Ace or the much more powerful and expensive M&M Genio with 75bhp engine fitted.
IndianTiger
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all are good.
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