Industrialist Anand Mahindra has set the record straight on the vehicles he owns. His clarification came after a "fake" and "fabricated" story suggested he owned several foreign luxury cars. Mr Mahindra, a vocal advocate for "Make in India," said he only owned Mahindra & Mahindra vehicles, currently driving a Scorpio N.
The controversy began when an X user shared a post questioning why the Mahindra chairperson drove foreign-made vehicles instead of the ones made here. The post included a screenshot of an online article claiming Mahindra owned luxury cars such as Ferrari California T, Porsche 911, and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
In response, Mahindra said, "I was taught how to drive by my mother in her light sky-blue Premier car, which she nicknamed 'BlueBird.' Since joining Mahindra in 1991, I have exclusively driven vehicles made by our company."
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He drives a red Mahindra Scorpio N, a model built by his own company, and occasionally uses his wife's silver Mahindra XUV 700, the Mahindra & Mahindra chairperson said.
The 69-year-old also addressed the photo showing him in front of a foreign car. He clarified that the photo was taken at the Monterey Car Week during the launch of Mahindra's Battista electric hypercar. The car in the photo, a classic Cisitalia, was designed by Pininfarina, a company owned by Mahindra.
Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of Autocar India, also defended Mahindra, confirming that he had only driven Mahindra vehicles for the past three decades. “It's not just made-in-India, it's made-in-Mahindra for Anand Mahindra who has owned & driven ONLY a Mahindra for the last 30+ years. He is absolutely true to his brand,” Mr Sorabjee tweeted.
Anand Mahindra also shared the list of every car he has owned and driven, starting from his mother's light sky-blue Premier car (earlier known as Fiat). He then drove a soft-top Mahindra CJ3 UV, followed by a Hindustan Motors Contessa after joining Mahindra & Mahindra.
When the hard-top Armada was produced, he switched to it, and over the years, he has owned and used a Bolero, Scorpio Classic, XUV 5OO, and currently drives a Red Scorpio N. Since the Armada, he has never owned or used any car of another brand, he stated.