In celebration of 70 years of diplomatic ties between India and Russia, a group of travel enthusiasts criss-crossed in 18 Mahindra vehicles over 19,500 kms across three distinctive legs through India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia

June 14, 2018, Mumbai: Mahindra Adventure, part of the $20.7 billion Mahindra Group, concluded the historic India-Russia Friendship Rally on June 2, 2018.

To mark seven decades of Indo-Russian diplomatic relations, a group of travel enthusiasts from India and Russia set off in 18 Mahindra vehicles from Bhilai on February 19, to traverse roads across four countries before reaching Russia in May. The event was organised by Kalinga Motorsports and supported by the Governments of the four nations involved.

The expedition, a joint effort by Indian and the Russian Governments commemorated the 70th year of Indian independence and 70 years of the India-Russia Diplomatic Relationship. The group navigated through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), also showcasing the establishments that have flourished in India with Russian collaboration. The rally was conducted in three legs.

The convoy was made up of 14 Mahindra Scorpios, two XUV 500’s, one Getaway and one Thar. This pioneering expedition successfully promoted connectivity between India and Russia, with an aim to boost trade and investments as well as opened civilian travel. The focus remained on strengthening the existing friendship, cooperation in cultural spheres, tourism, science and research.

The rally helped promote trade through the International North South Transport Corridor-INSTC. Above all, the aim of the rally was to cement direct people-to-people contact, which is likely to further strengthen the existing international relations.

Veejay Nakra, Chief of Sales & Marketing, Auto Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “India and Russia share a deep and enduring bond. Our two countries have long been friends and trade partners and our relationship has always been characterised by warmth, empathy and mutual respect. The Indo-Russian rally was organised to celebrate this friendship between our two great nations. This expedition also represents everything that Mahindra Adventure stands for, and it has been a privilege supporting it.”

The India leg of the rally culminated in Delhi on March 14 from where the Ambassador of Russia flagged off the second part. The 18 Mahindra vehicles were then shipped from Kandla port to Bandar Abbas in Iran. The participants then drove towards the north of Iran crossing the historically important cities of Shiraz, Persepolis, Isfahan and Tehran.

From Iran, the group entered Azerbaijan and the city of Baku. While driving into Russia, the group crossed Astrakhan, Volgograd, Moscow and finally St Petersburg to end the second leg of the rally.

Another set of participants traced back the route to Bandar Abbas to finally end the entire expedition on June 2, 2018, covering 19,989 kilometres.

About Mahindra Adventure

A unique concept to showcase the tough and rugged DNA of Mahindra vehicles, Mahindra Adventure functions as an umbrella brand with a series of self-drive overland adventure expeditions organized under its banner.

Mahindra Adventure was launched as an independent entity for all adventurous activities, in 2011, headed by Bijoy Kumar Y, Chief of Adventure Initiatives. He is a motoring enthusiast and the erstwhile editor of a popular motoring magazine.

The Mahindra Adventure calendar comprises a series of experiential marketing events throughout the year such as the popular off-roading event, the Great Escape, several Challenges (sporting events in keeping with the company’s promise of providing adrenaline pumping challenges), Multi-Day Special Escapes, such as the Monastery Escape (10 days), Royal Escape (6 days), the Authentic Bhutan (8 days), Himalayan Spiti Escape (7 days), Authentic Myanmar Thailand (12 days) & Authentic North East Escape (Meghalaya, Assam & Arunachal Pradesh- 10 days).

To spread the DNA of off-roading, the Mahindra Adventure team has also recently launched the Mahindra Adventure Off-Road Training Academy in Igatpuri to encourage off-roading amongst the adventure seekers.

Mahindra Adventure Off-road Training Academy is 28-acre facility, India’s first dedicated facility providing a one stop solution to learning everything about a Mahindra 4WD vehicle and how to use it to its full potential. Through this, we hope to leverage the brand’s off-road heritage, showcase the vehicles abilities and give the participants the confidence to explore the limits of the vehicles. Custom-made Mahindra Thars equipped with radio sets are exclusively used as training vehicles at the facility.

Team Mahindra Adventure’s has also been blazing the motorsport arena with their rally-prepared– Super XUV500, since its inception. Mahindra’s cheetah inspired XUV500 won the team championship at the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2016.

For more details on Mahindra Adventure, you can visit http://mahindraadventure.com/

About Mahindra

The Mahindra Group is a USD 20.7 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It enjoys a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company, by volume.  It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness, aerospace, commercial vehicles, components, defense, logistics, real estate, renewable energy, speedboats and steel, amongst other businesses. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 2,40,000 people across 100 countries.

Learn more about Mahindra on www.mahindra.com / Twitter and Facebook: @MahindraRise 

Media contact information:

Mohan Nair
Vice President (Communications)
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Office Direct Line – + 91 22 28468510 
Office Email Address – [email protected]