'Car needs a 2nd chance'

With Mahindra & Mahindra buying out Renault's 49% stake in their JV, Mahindra Renault Pvt Ltd, TOI caught up with group vice-chairman and MD Anand Mahindra for a chat to discuss the way forward. Excerpts:
The Logan really fired up the market initially. But what went wrong?
We had a terrific debut in terms of initial projections but we fell victims of over expectation.There were perceptions on styling. It had an edgy styling, which is typically European, but unfortunately it didn't click very well with the Indian buyers. Then the market got tough for us as the government changed excise rules, which was beneficial to smaller cars. Since the product was not ours we could not change dimensions of the car to suit the market dynamics. As a result, we got priced out and lost out to competition.
What went wrong with JV?
We had a great product. We were in control of the management, but never really in control of the product. While the competition changed the specs of their existing products when the new excise rules were announced, we could not make similar changes. So, things did not really work out as per our line of thinking. Every JV is created with a promise of only half life. But its been an amicable resolution now and we will continue to have a good relationship with Renault.
What happens next?
We would be free to make any changes in the product. There would be increased localisation, which would have a bearing on the cost.