Many companies outsource work to India — but a major Indian company is outsourcing key automotive engineering work to Detroit even though it does not sell vehicles in the United States.
In an interesting twist, when Mahindra & Mahindra wanted to expand its global vehicle development capabilities, it recognized there was insufficient talent in India. Executives looked at creating a technical center in Germany, Italy, England and California, among others, before deciding Detroit was the true epicenter for automotive development and testing, said Richard Haas, chief executive officer of the Mahindra North American Technical Center, now located in Troy.