Anand Mahindra innaugurated Mahindra2Wheelers' latest R&D facility in Pune today. This new facility will be used, among other things, to develop their own micro-hybrid scooter with start-stop capabilities. They are also working on 110cc and 300cc motors, of which the 300cc one is liquid cooled. These engines will go into production shortly. Apart from those, they are also working on engines between 110cc and 300cc which could just be derivatives of these engines. They also plan on looking into diesel powered two-wheelers, but before they make it to production, issues like NVH need to be sorted out.
Diesel isn't the only alternative on their mind though, they are also looking into producing electric scooters in the future with the help of Reva.
This R&D centre is the third largest centre of its kind in India and with an investment of Rs 100 Crores on the facility already and another Rs 500 Crore in the next five years, they hope to keep engineering new products and improving on the current ones.
The team at this new facility is not just a bunch of freshers, mind. Ashok, the head of R&D, is an Ex-LML man, so you know they aren't short on experience.
They will launch three new bikes in this financial year. The Stallio will be the first to come out, with a debut before the festive season while the Mojo will be launched in Jan-March 2013. All this will add to their current portfolio of Scooters like the Duro DZ and recently launched Rodeo RZ. Here's hoping for a few more options for prospective buyers.
