Mahindra and Mahindra Limited (M & M) is an Indian automobile manufacturing multinational based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest production vehicle manufacturers in India and the largest tractor manufacturer in the world. It is a part of the Mahindra Group, an Indian conglomerate.
It ranked in 21st place on a list of India's best companies by Fortune India 500 in 2011. Its main competitors in the Indian market include Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and others.
History
Mahindra & Mahindra was established as a steel trading company in 1945 in Ludhiana as Mahindra & Mohammed by the K.C brothers. Mahindra and J.C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Mohammed. After the independence of India and Pakistan was formed, Mohammed emigrated to Pakistan, where he became the country's prime minister of finance. The company changed its name to Mahindra and Mahindra in 1948. It eventually saw a business opportunity in expansion in the manufacture and sale of larger MUVs, starting with the Willys Jeep licensed assembly in India. Soon established as the jeep manufacturers of India, the company later began manufacturing light commercial vehicles (LCV) and agricultural tractors.
In recent years, the company has taken interest in new industries and foreign markets. They entered the two-wheeler industry by taking control of Kinetic Motors in India. M & M also has a controlling stake in the REVA Electric Car Company and acquired South Korea's SsangYong automobile company in 2011. In 2010-11 M & M entered micro drip irrigation with the acquisition of EPC Industries Ltd in Nashik.