Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, has responded to a critical tweet targeting the company’s car designs, service quality, and reliability, even comparing it unfavourably to competitors like Hyundai. This came after Mahindra launched its new electric vehicle range, the BE6e and XEV 9e.
The scathing X post, in part, read, “Every single product of yours is for those who don’t study and research… your cars stand nowhere at all near Hyundai when it comes to aesthetics…I have no idea if your design team or you yourself have such bad taste. But seriously your cars are for those who want a mountain-size car in 201 and have no idea about reliability and quality.”
The user said that Mahindra’s cars lacked aesthetic appeal and reliability, calling some designs “gobar (dung) kinda.”
“So far, only disappointed,” the post concluded.
Rather than dismissing or ignoring the comment, Anand Mahindra responded to a screenshot of the now-deleted post, admitting the company still had a long way to go but reminded the critic to consider how far Mahindra had come since the 1990s when experts advised the company to “exit the car business.”
“When I joined the company in 1991, the economy had just been opened up,” he replied. “A global consulting firm strongly advised us to exit the car business since we had no chance, in their view, of competing with the foreign brands that would enter. Three decades later, we are still around and competing fiercely.”
Addressing the user directly, he noted that the company had used all the “cynicism, scepticism—and even rudeness as in your post—to fuel our hunger to succeed.”
He also admitted there was “no room for complacency” and committed to continuous improvement. He concluded by thanking the critic for “feeding the fire in our bellies.”
You’re right, Sushant.
We have a long way to go.
But please consider how far we have come.
When I joined the company in 1991, the economy had just been opened up.
A global consulting firm strongly advised us to exit the car business since we had no chance, in their view, of… pic.twitter.com/xinxlBcGuV
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) December 1, 2024
The critic later replied, “OMG this is so sweet. I am glad you took the criticism constructively. I had to delete the tweet after a call from your team because I thought they were unhappy with the harsh words.”
OMG this is so sweet.
I am glad you took the criticism constructively, I had to delete the tweet after a call from yiur team because I thought they are unhappy with the harsh words.— Sushant Mehta (@SkyBarrister) December 1, 2024
He also admitted his words were “wrong.”
Mahindra launched the XEV 9e electric SUV in India, starting at Rs 21.90 lakh (ex-showroom price). The electric SUV, based on Mahindra’s INGLO platform, will be available for delivery in February 2025.
