Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd. (MNAL), the commercial vehicle joint venture between M&M and Navistar Inc. of USA today signed an MoU with Bank Of India for vehicle finance.

“Our partnership with Bank of India is a strategic one as it will help us consolidate our no.2 position in the market by providing our customers with an additional finance option at a lower rate of interest of 10.5% and a longer repayment period. Our customers can now avail of a loan of up to 85% of the on road price of the vehicle. Moreover, the bank’s vast national network of 3031 branches will also help us make further inroads in upcountry markets,” said Mr. Akhilesh Kumar Gupta, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd.

The MOU was signed by Mr. Akhilesh Kumar Gupta Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd. and Smt Nupur Mitra, General Manager (SME& Retail Banking) Bank of India in the august presence of Mr. M. Narendra, Executive Director, Bank of India.

Bank of India, an aggressive financier in the MSME segment, will be a preferred financier for the entire range of MNAL Light Commercial Vehicles which operates under the brand Loadking (Trucks) and Tourister i (Buses). The MNAL range of light commercial vehicles currently holds the no. 2 position in the market and is the market leader in the school bus segment. This tie-up will cover over 140 Mahindra dealers and over 3,031 branches of Bank of India across the country.

“Bank of India is a leading public sector bank having attained a total business volume of 3,34,000 crores and a network of 3031 branches. The bank has always been at the forefront of financing the SME sector, including the commercial vehicles segment. With a view to facilitate growth of Commercial Transportation Sector and to enable generation of higher avenues for self employment particularly amongst the people in rural and urban sectors, the Bank has decided to enter in a strategic tie up arrangement with Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd. This is another step towards augmenting financial assistance to the SME sector to which the Bank is fully committed, by its timely delivery of services” said Mr. M. Narendra, Executive Director, Bank of India.

About Mahindra Navistar
Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd. (MNAL) is a 51:49 Joint Venture between Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) and Navistar Inc. USA. MNAL manufactures the entire spectrum of commercial vehicles ranging from 3.5 – 49 tons GVW/GCW. These products are developed to suit Indian conditions and will set new levels of reliability, efficiency and customer experience in the commercial vehicle industry. Huge investments have been made in product development and in setting up of a Greenfield manufacturing facility at Chakan near Pune. Apart from a joint venture to manufacture trucks and buses, in November 2007, Navistar signed a second joint venture agreement with Mahindra & Mahindra, Ltd., this one focused on producing diesel engines for Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles in India.

About The Mahindra Group
The US $6.3 billion Mahindra Group is among the top 10 industrial houses in India. Mahindra is the market leader in multi-utility vehicles in India. It made a milestone entry into the passenger car segment with the Logan. Mahindra & Mahindra is the only Indian company among the top tractor brands in the world.

The Group has a leading presence in key sectors of the Indian economy, including the financial services, trade, retail and logistics, automotive components, after-market, information technology and infrastructure development. Mahindra has made an entry in the two-wheeler segment which will see the company emerge as a full-range player with a presence in almost every segment of the automobile industry.

Mahindra's Farm Equipment Sector is the proud recipient of the Japan Quality Medal, the only tractor company worldwide to be bestowed this honour. It also holds the distinction of being the only tractor company worldwide to win the Deming Prize. The US based Reputation

Institute recently ranked Mahindra among the top 10 Indian companies in its Global 200: The World's Best Corporate Reputations list.

Mahindra is also one of the few Indian companies to receive an A+ GRI checked rating for its first Sustainability Report for the year 2007-08.