As American automakers struggle, they're seeing new competition on their home turf, even in segments of the market they've owned for years. Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra now plans to bring an inexpensive midsize pickup truck to the U.S. market in 2009.

Jalopnik reports, "We knew Mahindra planned to bring their bargain-priced, stump-pulling, diesel-optioned Mahindra Appalachian to the US, but now things are getting serious. They've announced the pickup will hit shores as soon as this fall."

In a Press Release announcing the hiring of a U.S.-based Marketing Director, Mahindra claims "Beginning later this year," the company "will launch two- and four-door diesel-powered pickup trucks, in both two-wheel and four-wheel-drive versions. These are rugged vehicles, compact in size with the payload and towing capacity of larger pickups, with the fuel economy of a small automobile. About a year later, a diesel-powered SUV, with similar characteristics, will follow the pickup." The vehicles will be sold under the name Global Vehicles in the U.S.

The trucks, according to PickupTrucks.com, will be assembled in India and imported to America. Xavier Beguiristain, vice president of marketing, told Pickuptrucks.com "In the midsize segment there's nothing else like" Mahindra's Appalachian. "It's innovative. It's much more like a two-door F-150 or Silverado because it has such high capacity for payload - 1.3-tons - but we expect to have 30 mpg combined." The Appalachian's bed is 7.5 feet long.

The company plans "a big marketing push in advance of the Indian truck's launch here in the States, especially at motocross events around the country," according to Autoblog. "Mahindra believes that its truck will appeal to dirt bike riders who want a fuel-efficient hauler."

In the midst of a recession, the most important factor in the truck's success or failure may be its price - which is still unclear. Jalopnik reports that the truck will arrive "wearing a price tag half that of trucks with its stated capabilities."

Autoblog, meanwhile, says the sticker will be "10-15% below comparable Japanese offerings."

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