[vipul_singh]

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

Could the bidding be driven my M&M itself??

A person named Akaash Minda is part of the leadership team of the Minda group. If I remember correctly, Minda has been a long term supplier to Mahindra - since the 80s (instruments, specifically).

So, if this is the same Aakash Minda, they are indeed related to Mahindra through business ties.

https://sparkminda.com/management-team/

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

Akaash Minda is part of the leadership team of the Minda group. IIRC, Minda has been a long term supplier to Mahindra - since the 80s (instruments, specifically). So if this is the same Aakash Minda, they are indeed related to Mahindra.

Even if it is the same Aakash Minda - he didn't solely bid for the higher price. As one of the many who followed the bid live yesterday - I could see quite a few persons competing regularly - especially a couple of recurring bids from Ernakulam, Chennai, Chikmagalur, Ahmedabad, and also the winning bidder.

Infact, the price crossed 1C only by around 2:30 PM and kept on going higher and higher till 6PM sharp! Price changed even the last few seconds into the bid, and the winner was probably the one to time the last one perfectly at 6 PM.

Believe it could have fetched even more, had Mahindra provided a last hour extension.

[Vinod_nair]

Auction stops exactly on 1.11C

Looks stage managed than real. But, this gimmick has worked, media and public all glued.

[DrCar]

And the winner of the auction is Mr. Minda. And if he really is the supplier of parts to Mahindra or related to Mahindra products somehow, then I feel that the auctioned car fell into the right hands.
Mahindra won't be bothered about all the niggles that might crop up in their first car as every issue can be brushed silently under the carpet.

Putting all those things aside, I hope that the first batch the product itself is well built with minimal niggles.
Buying a car now a days is no more just a leap of faith because we all are aware about what the competition offers and thousands of reviews about a given product are available openly on the internet.

Hope Mahindra is successful in this effort. I want them to do well. Similar feelings for Tata as well. All the best for both of them.

[A.M.]

I always dreamt of owning the First Mahindra Thar. However, I'm just a student and lack the funds. But one really ironic thing is that Mr. Akash Minda's Thar will have the initials A.M! That is the same as my initials!

So in future, if this Thar hits the used car market, I'll be able to happily own this car, thinking of it as if it were mine, and the initials badge was made for me!

Anyways I plan to buy the Thar in 2022, but that wouldn't stop me from getting the first one (if I'm lucky enough to find it in the used car market).

[Sanjivvohra]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Stay home, the vehicle will not be there this weekend.

If you are talking about Sireesh Auto, Silk board, they said they are not going to have the TD vehicle before mid-oct. Or did someone confirm you it will be available this weekend?

Good suggestion, might plan a weekend of day drives, and visit the showroom when the craziness has died down somewhat.

[landcruiser123]

Sorry for being a damp squib, but INR 1.11 CR for a car from a company that usually makes it's initial customers guinea pigs? I find this rather ridiculous. I can understand the excitement behind a Ferrari or Lamborghini of which only a few hundred units will be produced.

Anyway, I read somewhere that the proceeding will go to charity. So, I hope the underprivileged are benefited from this deal.

Originally Posted by A.M.

... Mr. Akash Minda's Thar will have the initials A.M! That is the same as my initials!

Also,
AM = Anand Mahindra

[jalajprakash]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Mahindra will match the amount raised at the auction and the entire proceeds (excluding the on-road price of the vehicle) will be donated. ~2 crores for a good cause!

One small detail that everyone seems to be missing is that the bidding security amount of Rs 10,000 that M&M / Car&Bike charged to register for the auction was a non-refundable amount. According some news articles, around 4500 people registered for the bidding by paying that Rs 10,000 , which means that an amount of Rs 4 Crores 50 Lakhs was collected just from the registration fees. Hope that Mahindra is planning to donate this amount also, otherwise this also makes a new record for profit % per vehicle.

Also, why is Mahindra deducting the on-road price from the donated amount? 10L-15L (approx on road) is such a small amount for M&M especially when going to charity.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Vinod_nair

Auction stops exactly on 1.11C

Looks stage managed than real. But, this gimmick has worked, media and public all glued.

People were bidding in minimum 25k increments till 6PM sharp. In fact - 1,09,25,000 came in towards the last few minutes and almost made it and I even have a screenshot of this bid as it went down to 0.

However, the final bid was the winner was 1,75,000 above that probably to account for anyone else who could have submitted a few more 25k-50k-1L increments at the last minute. One could bid in multiples of 25k and he probably thought of bidding couple of notches higher, at the final second.

Originally Posted by jalajprakash

One small detail that everyone seems to be missing is that the bidding security amount of Rs 10,000 that M&M / Car&Bike charged to register for the auction was a non-refundable amount.

That's not correct.

10,000/- is refundable. As per the terms and conditions - the refund will be initiated to the same payment method within 2-3 days and will be handled by the payment gateway vendor itself.

[Sebring]

I'm sorry, but can you take one example of the perfect car, which doesn't have a glitch in a single piece? They've drummed up admirable PR with this exercise. Unfortunately our country doesn't make a Ferrari or Lamborghini

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Sorry for being a damp squib, but INR 1.11 CR for a car from a company that usually makes it's initial customers guinea pigs? I find this rather ridiculous. I can understand the excitement behind a Ferrari or Lamborghini of which only a few hundred units will be produced

[justwheels]

While to each his own, but I feel we are trying to read too much in the auction. A company like M&M does not a need crore or 2 to survive and game the bidding for no reason. In a country where there are people spending lakhs to get a number plate, this is still a full car.
Also, guess many pages have been used up for what and why Mr. Minda paid 1.11 crores for Thar 1. Guess the spirit of this thread is Thar 2 and onwards which souls like us will pay for, and not many can splurge beyond a point.
Now the question is what is M&M going to price this at? Would they want to keep it below scorpio? A S5 scorpio ex-showroom price is 12.44 lakhs, which is barebone version. While S7 is 14.54 lakhs. Where do you fit Thar in this bracket?

While Thar is a 4x4 purposeful vehicle, a scorpio still has a bigger full metal body. 2nd Oct still seems very far off with TD vehicles still out of sight in showrooms.

[desertfox]

Wil buy a replacement Thar in 2022 for sure. A Diesel AT but with two modifications. Bench seats in the rear and removable panel Hyderabad Hard top. They will develop one by then.

[F1-Addict]

I think too much has already been said about this.

Why is it difficult to believe that Mr. Minda is a genuine philanthropist and this way he did good, also got a big corporate to match his amount going to charity.

and yes he got a nice vehicle home to remind him of his good work.

Wish life was simple. Reminds me of a song by John Lenon - Imagine.

P.S. - I have no connection or relation or even any remote idea who this Mr. Minda is. Just to clarify for those with an evil mind.

[sjcherian]

My thoughts after seeing the price is that Thar will most probably be kept stored someplace indoors mostly in some corporate office or personal collection as a show piece. Max may get driven rarely.
Anyways as long as the money goes to some good cause that's great !
Cannot imagine this being used by the buyer and then being sold later as a used vehicle.

[roy_libran]

Minda industries got enormous piggyback publicity for what is essentially a pittance, along with potential political and corporate goodwill. It'll pay itself many many times over.
Not to mention the personal brand the gentleman created for himself.