How is Mahindra & Mahindra tweaking its focus on technology, especially in lightweighting?
Our major challenges are in scale and commercial side. We are a delivery organisation. We are in the technology domain and have a person whose key responsibility is technology. We wish to give this a disruptive focus. We are not into technology for the sake of technology. Our goals are to increase functionality and reduce costs. The value that we give is what the buyer is ready to pay for.
That being the guiding principle, we have to focus on buyer requirements. To meet his needs, meet fuel efficiency norms. So if we were to downsize the engine, it is to lower friction and try and get more power from the same bore size. In the engine space, we are looking at technology that reduces the parasitical losses. So we shift the oil pump to run on the battery and not engine.
What are the key technologies that M&M is working on to reduce vehicle weight?
Briefly, we are looking into the increased use of aluminium and magnesium and aluminium-bonded frames and hi-strength steel and stampings to make the products lighter and more fuel efficient.
