The Hyderabad edition of The Hindu dated 4-3-2013 has carried a story that Mahindra is on the verge of signing an agreement with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to set up a manufacturing facility for its proposed small car in Zaheerabad of Andhra Pradesh. It must be noted that Mahindra already has a manufacturing facility there, something that happened when the company bought out the Allwyn-Nissan factory which manufactured the Cabstar LCV. Mahindra makes its range of commercial vehicles including three wheelers, school buses and also the Bolero Camper.
On the 6th of March, Mahindra will announce a new tractor making unit at Zaheerabad and this product is supposedly for the export market. The Hindu says that the AP Government has succeeded in luring Mahindra to also set up its small car project at Zaheerabad and that it has given it sops for the same. A formal announcement is likely to come on the 6th of March when the tractor unit will be inaugurated. If this news is indeed true Andhra Pradesh could finally get a car manufacturing unit that has been eluding it constantly.
Peugeot, Tata (for the Nano), BMW have considered Andhra Pradesh as a location for their factories before choosing other places. Royal Enfield also announced a plant in AP before moving to Tamil Nadu. It was reported that Isuzu had zeroed in on AP for its plant but the company has denied that and has said that AP is one of the many sites being evaluated by Isuzu.