Mahindra has added a six-speed auto to its funky Pik Up. Sean Willmot takes a close look at Mahindra's new offering.
The Pik Up has however, had one significant stumbling block, which has probably done quite a bit to hamper its success. That stumbling block is the lack of an automatic transmission until now.
Lack of a self-shifter is not a problem Mahindra has had in isolation – there have been other manufacturers in the past who have fallen into this pit, including Volkswagen's gen 1 Amarok, a vehicle which arrived late and didn't have an auto for almost two years, costing the German ute more sales than it anticipated.
Mahindra obviously felt the need for a self-shifter was a luxury its little truck-lette didn't need, and perhaps in its native India this was true, but when you export to other markets – especially markets where a stick shift is something of a novelty – the automatic is pretty much a mandatory requirement.
In fact, Mahindra Australia has already acknowledged a lack of sales due to this weak spot in Mahindra's value-for-money armour.
It's something
