New Delhi: Diversified conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra today said it has opened its first technical centre in the US to provide design and consulting services to automotive customers, mainly in Michigan region.

“Mahindra inaugurated its new Technical Center in Troy, Michigan today. This facility is the company’s first technical centre in USA and will leverage Michigan’s large automotive talent pool to provide design and consulting services for Mahindra’s automotive customers in the region,” the company said in a statement on its website.

This new facility will initially employ 25 engineers and has been designed to accommodate double that number in the future, it added.

Commenting on the development, Mahindra Group Chief Executive (Technology, Product Development and Sourcing – Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors) Rajan Wadhera said, “This new Technology Centre will serve as a base for Mahindra to address the engineering demand for our automotive and farm engineering requirements together with our Global Development Centre in India.”

The Troy centre is the latest addition to M&M’s ‘neural network’ of innovation, which also comprises its other research facilities in India, the US, China and Korea, he added.

Mahindra Engineering Chief Executive Officer Prashant Kamat said, “This is our first Technical Centre in USA. We also plan to scale up the centre in due course and will establish a dedicated recruiting department in the US office to meet this goal.”

The company currently has a workforce of about 100 in North America with over 60 per cent comprising US nationals, he added.