New-gen Mahindra Thar Outsells The Previous Thar In Only Its First Year Of Production

It has amassed 75,000 bookings in just one year, though about half the orders are still pending delivery

• Bookings for the second-gen Thar began in October 2020 with deliveries starting in November.

• The first-gen Thar’s sales totalled around 60,000 units over its nine-year production run, before being discontinued in 2019.

• The new Thar added practicality with modern comforts and safety, front-facing rear seats, a convertible soft-top, and choice of automatic transmissions.

• Only 30,000 Thars have been dispatched so far as production has been affected by global supply chain disruptions.

• It is currently priced from Rs 12.78 lakh to Rs 15.08 lakh with 4WD as standard, though Mahindra has hiked the prices by up to Rs 1.33 lakh since its launch.

The second-gen Mahindra Thar that launched on October 2, 2020, has garnered 75,000 bookings in the twelve months since. In comparison, Mahindra could sell only around 60,000 units of the first-gen Thar from its late 2010 launch till its discontinuation in 2019.

Also read: Mahindra Thar: Old vs New

The new Thar retains the lifestyle aspects of the original with its off-roading capabilities and the option of a convertible soft-top roof. It added the choice of modern comforts such as cruise control, a factory-fitted touchscreen infotainment system with off-roading statistics, front-facing rear seats and to top it off, also offered an automatic transmission with both its petrol and diesel engine options. Mahindra has revealed that automatic variants account for almost 50 percent of bookings and that 25 percent of the bookings are for the petrol variants. The carmaker’s sales analysis also states that 40 percent of the bookings were made by millenials.

Delivery timelines for the Thar have been affected by global supply chain issues, especially the semiconductor shortage, and partly due to Mahindra’s own underestimation of its demand. More than 45,000 of the 75,000 units booked are still pending delivery as 30,000 units have been dispatched so far.On top of that, more names are being added to the waitlist every month, even though the Thar’s prices have increased by well over a lakh since its launch.

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The Thar is currently the most affordable 4WD offering in India, even though the base-spec variants were discontinued to meet the high demand for the mid- and top-spec trims. These four-seater variants also earned a four-star Global NCAP safety rating, as they come with a roll cage, dual-front airbags, ISOFIX mounts in the rear and three-point seatbelts all around.

Mahindra offers the Thar with the choice of a 2-litre petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engines, both getting the option of either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission. Four-wheel drive is standard, with a mechanically locking rear differential. The Thar is currently priced from Rs 12.78 lakh to Rs 15.08 lakh (ex-showroom) with its only direct rival being the recently launched new-gen Force Gurkha.

Related: 2021 Force Gurkha vs. Mahindra Thar: Which One Has The Better Specs?

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