Indian SUV headed to US in 2009

India’s Mahindra & Mahindra is headed to the US with hopes to sell more than 10,000 units of its Scorpio SUV by the end of the decade. The first vehicles will reach the US in 2009, but the range will initially be offered to the UK market later this year, while the Aussies will see the launch of an M&M pickup this week.

“Our goal is to be known as global specialist players in SUVs and pickups,” said Pawan Goenka, the head of the group’s automotive unit in an interview with the Financial Times. Based in Mumbai, M&M already sells a range of tractors in the US and has exported its Scorpio SUV to South Africa, Italy, France and Spain in limited numbers.

The SUV will be offered in three variants for the US market, with pricing expected to start well below the $25,000 mark. The top of the line Scorpio SLX retails for 828,132 rupees in India, which is approximately $18,500. The group’s vice-chairman and managing director, Anand Mahindra, revealed that the new model would undercut comparable SUVs offered by GM, Ford and Toyota by up to $1,500.