As Dr. Goenka’s leadership, M&M shows significant growth and innovation in Auto sector.
For Mahindra & Mahindra, June 20, 2002, will always be a red-letter day since it marked the introduction of its Scorpio SUV, altering its
Maker’s reputation and wealth indefinitely. The SUV allowed the Utility Vehicle (UV) manufacturer, who had previously mostly catered to the rural and semi-urban sectors, to enter the urban market as well as capitalize on the growing SUV trend. If M&M had carried out a plan that was conceived halfway through the Scorpio project, that story would not have occurred. To sell it off, that is! The Board’s confidence in the big project’s prospects was lacking. Luckily for M&M, the Board had a change of heart, and the rest is history.
This lesser-known detail was revealed by Dr. Pawan Goenka, the former Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, during an event celebrating the recent award of the esteemed Padma Shri to him. Dr. Goenka is the first non-promoter leader in the automotive industry to earn this civilian recognition for his significant contributions to India’s automotive and space sectors.
The engineer, often referred to as the ‘Father of the Scorpio,’ not only directed the SUV project, but also played a crucial role in enhancing the organization’s research and development and product design capabilities through the IDAM (Integrated Design and Manufacturing) initiative. He joined M&M in 1993 after spending 14 years at the General Motors R&D Center in Detroit. The first product of the IDAM project—the Scorpio—exemplified frugal engineering, with a total development cost of Rs. 550 crore.
