Mahindra To Focus On Making SUVs; No Petrol, Diesel Sedans Planned
Modified On Mar 07, 2019 04:02 PM By Dinesh for Mahindra Verito
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Mahindra may, however, continue to offer an electric sedan in India, like the e-Verito that’s on sale currently
- Mahindra’s current ICE portfolio includes eight SUVs and a hatchback (KUV100).
- Mahindra’s Verito sedan, which is available with both diesel and electric powertrains, is the only sedan in its lineup.
- In terms of prices, Mahindra's SUVs overlap with three sedan segments: sub-compact (Dzire, Amaze), compact (City, Ciaz) and mid-size (Corolla Altis, Elantra)
Mahindra has decided to not offer any conventional sedans powered by petrol or diesel engines anymore in India. The confirmation comes from Dr. Pawan Goenka, MD of of Mahindra, on the sidelines of the Geneva Motor Show 2019.
Mahindra has hinted earlier as well that it intends to be an SUV player only, and it reflects in the way the carmaker positions itself in the market. Mahindra acquired SsangYong in the past, a brand that only makes SUVs. In fact, the Indian carmaker calls its showrooms ‘World of SUVs’. If that doesn’t clarify its intent, the carmaker’s online platform where you can book and customise all its cars and get in touch for anything related to its automotive portfolio is called mahindrasyouv.com.
Mahindra is one of the major SUV players in India in terms of market share, and having a total of eight SUVs in its India portfolio certainly helps. There’s also a hatchback in Mahindra’s portfolio, the KUV100, but even that has SUV traits, like the tall stance and some muscle in its design.
Mahindra currently has only one sedan in its portfolio, the Verito (e-Verito), which is available in both diesel and electric versions. But it is also likely to be discontinued in the light of new safety norms that will be applicable from the latter half of 2019.
While ICE-powered sedans are now ruled out, Mahindra is likely to follow up the e-Verito with a successor. It’s being speculated that the eVerito will be replaced by the electric version of the Mahindra-badged Ford Aspire.
Mahindra and Ford entered a joint venture a couple of years back with the aim of developing new products (including electric cars) and connected mobility solutions. This JV could result in an electric version of the Ford Aspire, which might also be longer than the sub-4m Aspire that Ford currently sells. The electric Aspire could be seen as a spiritual successor to the e-Verito in the Indian market.
While there will be no in-house developed sedans in Mahindra’s portfolio, it will continue to make other unibody cars (monocoque) like the KUV100, XUV300 and the XUV500. All these SUVs are also expected to get electric variants in the future.
Mahindra’s decision of not developing sedans owing to the popularity of SUVs is not particularly surprising. There have been carmakers who have refrained from particular body types and the most recent example is Ford (global). The American carmaker has also expressed its disinterest in all other body types apart from SUVs. Do you think Mahindra should make a sedan, or are you in agreement with its decision of sticking to SUVs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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