Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which unveiled the vehicle at a starting price of Rs 7.49 lakhs, said that its new product lineup will enable it to take the lead in the subcompact SUV market.
“The subcompact segment sells around 6 lakh cars. We target to be either no.1 or no.2 in that segment in the next 3 years,” Rajesh Jejurikar, ED & CEO, Auto & Farm Sectors, M&M.
With sales of 4,59,000 units, M&M surpassed market leader Maruti Suzuki to become the biggest SUV manufacturer in FY24. It now hopes to take a bigger chunk of the small SUV market with the upcoming introduction. Its rivals include the Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Maruti Brezza, and Tata Nexon.
The top-end XUV 3XO variant costs Rs 15.49 lakh. The XUV 3XO receives a significant feature upgrade that includes powerful Level 2 ADAS capabilities, an extensive suite of safety equipment, excellent drivetrain options, and more. The update was inspired by Mahindra’s planned BE series of electric SUVs.
“The XUV 3XO exemplifies Mahindra’s dedication to blending top-tier safety, cutting-edge technology and thrilling performance with standout design. Built on a durable, well-tested platform, it is engineered to meet the highest global safety standards, including the B-NCAP,” said R Velusamy, President, of Automotive Technology and Product Development, at Mahindra.
He added that the XUV 3XO also meets the benchmarks established by XUV700 – offering best-in-class forward visibility and the quietness of its gasoline variant is comparable to that of the gasoline.
It comes with three engine choices, two petrol units and one diesel mill, paired to an automatic, or a manual gearbox. It will have 35 safety features including vehicle dynamics control, rollover mitigation, hill hold control, hill descent control and electronic brake prefill. It will have an initial production capacity of 9000 units per month.
“Thar is built in the Nashik plant and the XUV3XO is going to be built in the same plant. We’re likely to end this year with being the second-largest passenger vehicle company by revenue in India,” Jejurikar said.
According to Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO of M&M’s Automotive Division, it’s priced aggressively for a new set of customers. “We want to target a new set of customers, someone who wants to upgrade from a hatch to a true SUV. For them, we have our entry-level variant which has a 18.89 km/l fuel efficiency. Then other variants target customers who want a higher set of first-in-segment technological features like Adrenox features, twin 26.03 cm HD screens, wireless Android Auto & Apple Carplay, and built-in Alexa, etc. Price segmentation has been done keeping these specific audiences in mind,” he adds.