Mahindra & Mahindra to develop a new platform to compete EcoSport and Duster

With the introduction of series of compact utility vehicles by the global automakers, the sales of Mahindra & Mahindra, the leading UVs maker, has gone down. Vehicles like Ford EcoSport, Renault Duster, Maruti Ertiga has badly hit the sales volume of Mahindra vehicles including Quanto, Xylo, XUV500 and Scorpio. While EcoSport grabs the attention of customers, Duster managed to remain stable in the market, though it lost some numbers.

To overcome this crisis, and to compete against the likes of EcoSport, Duster and others, Mahindra is planning to launch new platform to further gain the lost market share. The fight to achieve the first position in the fastest growing sports utility vehicle segment is getting furious, as Nissan's Terrano is about to hit the Indian shores, while Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki, Honda and others are all set to launch their compact SUVs. Hyundai is working on a compact SUV based on Grand i10, Maruti Suzuki will introduce the production version of XA Alpha and Honda will bring a Jazz based compact crossover in India by the next year.

Interestingly, the sales number are swinging regularly, as Mahindra's Scorpio again back to the fight, and recently generated better number than its rival Renault Duster. For the consecutive months, the old rugged Scorpio managed to beat the fast selling urban SUV Duster. However, Ford's EcoSport is still ruling the chart.

The homegrown automajor is planning to launch 3-4 new platforms in the next three years. All the platforms will be used to develop different UVs. However, the company also plans to expand its lineup, and will bring products in other segment as well.

Source : ET