Mahindra to delay XUV 500 export plans as demand out strips in India

Mahindra XUV 500 is a SUV for masses and Indian customers have literally been wooed by this marvelous piece of technology. Mahindra XUV 500 priced in the ambit of Rs 10.80 lakh-Rs 12.88 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) is equipped with such adorable interior, exterior and safety features that has created a hysteria among car lovers. Such is the demand of XUV 500 that the company has to delay its plan of exporting the SUV to other countries. Mahindra & Mahindra has decided that it will first satisfy the domestic needs and then think about its export plans later. Pawan Goenka, who holds the position of President in Automotive and Farm Equipment sectors at M&M, spoke to media on the sidelines of the 16^th Asia Pacific Automotive Engineering Conference and said that the company has received 5,000 bookings for this SUV within a week of its launch in five cities.

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The waiting period for the new SUV is around 17 weeks now but the capacity of company is to roll out 2,000 units per month. Terming Australia, Chile and other neighboring countries as the prospective markets for Mahindra XUV 500, Goenka also said that earlier, the company had planned to ship the product to these markets six months after the domestic launch. But with the demand booming in India, they may have to postpone the plan to export the SUV to new markets further. He added that the South Korean subsidiary Ssangyong has a strong presence in Russia, Western Europe, Chile and China; which will assist Mahindra in its foreign operation.International distribution, product development, sharing of vehicle platform, sharing of component aggregates and component sourcing are the core areas which Ssangyong will supplement M&M.

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Goenka informed that Mahindra will launch a vehicle with Ssangyong in India next April-May. This may be Mahindra Ssangyong Rexton or Mahindra Ssangyong Korando. However, he did not reveal that till what extent the vehicle will share its parts with M&M and the cost savings derived would also be known later. On the new electric vehicle Mahindra Reva NXR’s front, he said that it is going to be launched soon. The vehicle will run on lithium ion battery and will have a longer range. Goenka also shared that compared to the existing models the price will be slightly on the higher side. Asked whether it would be better for the government to fund research on electric cars in India instead of subsidizing vehicle purchase, he said that investments in research will be huge and the government may not be able to fund it.

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