Mahindra
& Mahindra successfully auctioned its all-new Thar SUV for a noble cause
and ended up raising Rs. 1.11 crore through an online auction. The auction witnessed
almost 5,500 registrations from nearly 550 locations across the country.
Mahindra has matched the amount raised at the auction and the total proceeds of
Rs. 2.22 crores will be donated towards COVID-19 relief work.
The
winning bid was placed by Aakash Minda from New Delhi at Rs. 1.11 crore, over 4
times the auction reserve price which was set at Rs. 25 lakhs. The winner has
chosen Swades Foundation to receive the entire proceeds from the auction and
support COVID-19 relief work.
So
who is the Aakash Minda? Obviously, he is part of the larger automotive family.
Young Aakash Minda is the CEO of Minda Corporation Limited, the flagship
company of Spark Minda Ashok Minda Group. The company manufactures electronic
and mechanical security system. The company makes system and electronic
controller for electric vehicles. Amongst its clients is Mahindra &
Mahindra.
As
for Swades Foundation, it was founded by Ronnie & Zarina Screwvala. Swades
started as SHARE (Society to Heal Aid Restore Educate) in 1983. In 2013, SHARE changed
into Swades Foundation with a mission to empower rural lives.
Bidders
were spread across locations such as New Delhi, Chikmaglur (Karnataka), Chennai
(Tamil Nadu), Ernakulum (Kerala), Medinipur (West Bengal), Rajkot (Gujarat)
Ballia (Uttar Pradesh), Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Jorhat (Assam), Tirunelveli
(Tamil Nadu), Bhagalpur (Bihar), Bilaspur (Chattisgarh), Ganganagar
(Rajasthan), Kohima (Nagaland), amongst several others and they bid actively
over a period of 6 days.
To
put it in perspective, there were 37 bidders who put their top bid value at
more than Rs 50 lakhs and 4 bidders put their top bids at over Rs 1 crore.
The
winning bid brings a successful end to the All-New Thar auction. Online
registrations for the auction opened on September 19, 2020, while the auction
began on September 24, 2020 and concluded at 6pm on September 29, 2020. The top
5 bidders were:
|
Sl No
|
Name of the Bidder
|
Location
|
Bid Amount
|
|
1
|
Aakash Minda
|
New Delhi
|
Rs 1,11,00,000
|
|
2
|
Vishwanath
|
Chikmaglur
|
Rs 1,09,50,000
|
|
3
|
Arun
|
Chennai
|
Rs 1,09,25,000
|
|
4
|
Abhishek Datta
|
Medinipur
|
Rs 1,07,00,000
|
|
5
|
Divyarajsinh
|
Rajkot
|
Rs 98,25,000
|