Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari pass the army test, compete for the big deal

For eons now the Maruti Gypsy has been the Indian Army’s reliable and go-to vehicle to tackle the terrains across the country, especially in the northern region, but now the army has opened up a new category of vehicles to be inducted called the GS800 aka General Service 800s. These may include the Mahindra Scorpio or the Tata Safari, or both. Both the vehicles have passed rigorous trial to participate in the Indian Army tenders and the army will shortly invite bids to supply vehicles; this contract bid will be in the range of Rs 500 – Rs 750 crore.

15 companies has participated in the initial discussion which included Toyota, Honda and Ford, but only the homegrown players made it to the final round. The army is looking at hardtop vehicles with a payload of 800kgs along with air-conditioning. Until now the Indian Army used the Maruti Gypsy and the Mahindra commander which were in the GS500 category and had a payload of 500kgs.

Commenting on this achievement of passing the army trials, Mr. Vernon Noronha, head of defence and government business at Tata Motors, said “The company has received intimation from the Army that the Storme has passed the test and will be allowed to bid in a tender for more than 3,200 vehicles, expected to be floated shortly”.

Mr. Pravin Shah, CEO of Mahindra's automotive division, said “Supply to the army isn't new to the company and that since the Scorpio has also now qualified the tests, the company is hopeful of getting new orders.” It is expected that the Army will invite bids for 3249 vehicles in the first year with an option of increasing the order by a good 50%.

The vehicles by Tata and Mahindra will be built on the existing platforms of the Storme and the Scorpio but with additional modifications to suit the needs of the Army. These include black out lights and convoy lamps, provision for water and ammunition, etc. These vehicles will also have rear hooks for towing military equipment.

Induction of the GS800 range of vehicles doesn’t meant the Gypsy has been forgotten. Recently the Army gave Maruti Suzuki an order of 4,100 units, which is the biggest ever that Maruti has got since 1991, they year when it started supplying Gypsies to the Indian Army.

Source: Zigwheels

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