Mahindra hopes for quick Aston Martin deal

But Ashvin Chotai, managing director of consulting firm Intelligence Automotive Asia in London, said: Aston Martin technology is so far beyond anything that Mahindra is doing at the moment that it's hard to see any synergies either way.

The main thing Mahindra would bring to Aston Martin is money and maybe resources. But they're not bringing a lot of experience.

Invstment Welcome

For Aston Martin, analysts say, sales of only 4,200 cars last year and tight margins mean that a boost of investment would be welcome to refresh its model range and, notably, build new engines as new European Union emissions criteria loom ahead.

We view this bid with caution as we believe the latter will require significant investments in R&D and benefits of technology transfer to M&M's product portfolio is questionable given little similarity between portfolios, Indian brokerage Edelweiss Securities said in a research note.

Costs including research and development and sales account for about 25 percent of sales at Aston Martin, compared with 12-14 percent at luxury car rivals such as BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Daimler, a Barclays report said.

Large investments could be required to expand product portfolio and distribution reach, the report said.

One voice speaking up in favour of Mahindra was that of the Unite trade union representing workers at Aston Martin.

We are in favour of a deal that secures the future of the company and injects capital, said Tim Parker, a regional officer for the union. We have doubts about private equity because of the reputation the private equity

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