4×4S.ORGTHE REGISTRY BASE MODEL · 1949–2010
BASE MODELIndia

Mahindra CJ, MM 540 and Major (1949–2010)

India’s Jeep: Mahindra assembled Willys CJs from kits from 1949 under the 1947 licence and built the CJ-3B and its descendants — the CJ-4, CJ-500, MM 540 and MM 550, the Commander and the Major — into the 2010s, with Peugeot XD3 and Mahindra diesels; the vehicle of Indian farms, taxis, the police and the army for sixty years.

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Sources & evidence
Mahindra CJ, MM 540 and Major (1949–2010) — A Mahindra Jeep station wagon in Goa, 1994Andrew Bone from Weymouth, England · CC BY 2.0 ↗
MODEL LINECJ, MM and MajorBUILT BYMahindra & MahindraPRODUCED1949–2010PRODUCTIONNot publishedLAYOUT4 wheels · 80″

The record

The Willys licence made Mahindra a vehicle maker and the CJ shape India’s standard utility for two generations; the Thar replaced the Major in 2010 but the same chassis family ran underneath it. Mahindra’s long-wheelbase versions became the shared taxis and police vehicles of small-town India.

Specification

MANUFACTURERMahindra & Mahindra ↗
Nashik
MANUFACTURED1949–2010
ENGINE2.1 and 2.5-litre Peugeot XD3 and Mahindra diesels; 2.2-litre petrol
PRODUCTION RUNNot published
COUNTRY OF ORIGINIndia
STATUSreplaced by the Thar in 2010
RECORD KINDBase model
MODEL LINECJ, MM and Major
FAMILYCJ, MM and Major
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE80″
BODY STYLESoft top
VARIANTS3

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Body styles & colours

Body style

Factory colours

  • Diamond White

Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Mahindra & Mahindra ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22SOURCE
  2. 2Mahindra Major ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-22 · status: researched