When a global consulting firm told Anand Mahindra to exit car business

Mahindra group Chairman Anand Mahindra has revealed that a global consulting firm once told his company to exit car business as they cannot compete with foreign brands.

"When I joined the company in 1991, the economy had just been opened up. A global consulting firm strongly advised us to exit the car business since we had no chance, in their view, of competing with the foreign brands that would enter. Three decades later, we are still around and competing fiercely."

Mahindra was reacting to a post of an X user who had used derogatory words to describe the company's vehicles asking it to improve vehicle quality, fix service issues and employee attitude.


Responding to a post on X by an user, , Mahindra acknowledged, saying, "We have used all the surrounding cynicism, scepticism—and even rudeness, as in your post—to fuel our hunger to succeed. Yes we have miles to go before we sleep. There is no room for any complacency and continuous improvement will continue to be our mantra. But thank you for feeding the fire in our bellies….We have a long way to go".

Anand Mahindra's reply has won hearts of netizens, even with fellow industrialist Harsh Goenka terming it as a 'masterclass'.


Reacting to his post, RPG Enterprise Chairman Harsh Goenka wrote, "Masterclass in reacting to an irate customer."

The X user, who ignited the conversation, later clarified that he is not an M&M customer, having cancelled a booking he found out after research that the company's vehicle is "not for me because I can not handle service centre visits".

The user admitted that he has "always been a big fan of Anand sir" and would want to buy a Mahindra vehicle as soon as he finds it according to his benchmarks.

Mahindra's post had over 18 lakh views receiving over 2,500 replies.