Who Owns Mahindra Tractors?

Mahindra and Mahindra began in 1945 as Mahindra and Mohammed, a steel trading firm founded by brothers Jagdish Chandra Mahindra and Kailash Chandra Mahindra with Malik Ghulam Muhammad. After partition and Muhammad's departure, it became Mahindra and Mahindra in 1948 and pivoted to assembling Willys Jeeps and industrial goods.

The tractor business launched in 1962 through a technical collaboration with International Harvester, producing the B-275, a machine that sold in India for more than five decades and made the Mahindra name synonymous with farming. Through the 1970s and 1980s the company steadily indigenized production and built a rural dealer network that became its decisive asset.

Mahindra overtook the field to become India's largest tractor maker and then, by volume, the largest in the world, a position it has held for years on the strength of India's enormous market. Key expansion moves included the 2004-2007 acquisition of majority control of Punjab Tractors, which brought the Swaraj brand, the purchase of stakes in Japan's Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery, Turkey's Erkunt, and Finland's Sampo Rosenlew, and the build-out of Mahindra Ag North America, which made the brand a genuine contender in the US compact tractor segment.

The Farm Equipment Sector's recent record is its strongest yet. In FY2025-26 M&M sold 526,403 tractors across the Mahindra, Swaraj, and Trakstar brands, up 24 percent, captured a record 43.6 percent domestic share, and pushed exports up 16.7 percent, cementing a 43rd consecutive year as India's market leader while building a growing presence in more than 100 countries.