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Mahindra in Running for U.S. Postal Vehicle Contract
India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. says it will build a second assembly plant in Michigan if it lands a big contract to supply small delivery trucks to the U.S.
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India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. says it will build a second assembly plant in Michigan if it lands a big contract to supply small delivery trucks to the U.S. Postal Service.
The USPO has said it will award a six-year, $6 billion contract this summer to supply 180,000 next-generation vehicles and repair parts. The trucks will replace the service’s Grumman LLV vans (pictured) that have been delivering mail for decades, Crain’s Detroit Business reports.
Mahindra opened a facility in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills last year to assemble its off-road Roxor SUV for the American market. The Roxor is a variant of the World War II Willys Overland Jeep, predecessor of the modern Jeep CJ model, which Mahindra has been making in India for more than 70 years.
CEO Rick Haas says Mahindra Automotive N. America’s Michigan plant currently is making Roxor models—which aren’t street legal—at a rate of 30 per day. He adds that the company is eyeing three sites in Michigan for a second factory if Mahindra wins the USPO contract.
Haas says the company is developing six future products for the U.S. market that could be paired with postal vehicle production at a new facility, according to CDB.
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