A fleet of Mahindra Pik-Up utes are among the hardest working vehicles in Australia.
Newcastle-based Valley Express, a professional courier service that specialises in working with the Australian mining industry, has been recognised by Mahindra this week for its loyalty after one of its Pik-Up utes recently clocked up more than a million kilometres.
Valley Express initially purchased five Mahindra Pik-Ups in 2021 to deliver equipment across the country, with the remaining four others also close to approaching the seven-figure milestone.
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The freight company was so impressed by the reliability of the utes that it added another two more last year.
“We have been really pleased with the performance of the Mahindra Pik-Up ute,” the Valley Express director Megan Hinds told CarExpert.
“The value for money is what attracted us to them in the first place. Essentially we can get two of these utes for the price of one well-known alternative.
“And since we’ve had them, they have proven to be extremely reliable which is critical for our business.”
Valley Express labels itself as an ‘urgent’ freight company that assists with delivering anything from a small satchel to heavy equipment for breakdown repairs.
Its Mahindra Pik-Ups have travelled across the country from their Newcastle base, as far afield as Alice Springs, Far North Queensland and Western Australia.
“Each car covers approximately 5000-7000 kilometres a week, or around 250,000km a year, and they are on the road 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” added Hinds.
Each Pik-Up is fully serviced weekly by Hunter Valley Mahindra in Rutherford.
“We have had to do a bit of maintenance with them over that time, and replaced the gearbox on each of them every 250,000km or so,” said Hinds.
“But that has been more of a preventative measure, other than general wear and tear and consumables like tyres and brakes. We haven’t had a vehicle off the road or let us down on the job.
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Mahindra’s Shivank Bargoti (L) with Valley Express’ Megan Hinds (R)
“They are all still running the original engine, with the same fuel-injectors, turbochargers, alternators and power steering pumps.”
Mahindra Automotive’s Shivank Bargoti visited Valley Express earlier this week to recognise the longevity milestone of the company’s vehicles, and to present Hinds and her team with a series of million-kilometres plaques for the utes.
“Valley Express has been a loyal Mahindra customer for years, and their million-kilometre fleet highlights what the Pik-Up was built for – dependable performance at exceptional value,” said Bargoti.
“This kind of longevity doesn’t happen by accident. It’s what makes Mahindra stand out in the real working world.”
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