We reported earlier when it surfaced that Mahindra is readying up an automatic variant of the high-selling XUV500. (CLICK HERE TO READ OUR EARLIER REPORT). Now, a Mahindra XUV500 test mule has been spotted with a warning note which says- Not to be driven above 50 km/hr.
It is already known the India’s largest utility vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), has signed a deal with Aisin Seiki of Japan, a top global supplier of automatic transmissions, to supply the next-gen 6-speed automatic transmission for future M&M and SsangYong models. One of these automatic boxes will be used in the XUV500, which will be a 6 speed unit.
“Yes, we are going to install the Aisin six-speed automatic, which is coming in January 2015, and Mahindra is also considering the same gearbox for the XUV500, so volume wise that is great for us and we can save some money,” said Y I Lee, President and CEO of SsangYong Motor Company.
The new Aisin automatic gearbox will be a conventional torque converter unit. The unit will feature a lot of sophisticated hardware and electronics to improve efficiency by reducing ‘spin loss.’ According to Aisin, its new generation of automatic transmissions are much lighter and have quicker gearshifts too.
With the automatic transmission, the XUV500 will come with a bump in power of upto 30 bhp. The Mahindra XUV500, in the manual variant, develops 140 bhp from the 2.2 liter diesel engine. The Mahindra XUV500 automatic will develop 170 bhp from the same 2.2 liter diesel engine. The manual variant won’t be getting the additional 30 bhp as the manual gearbox cannot withstand the additional horses.
Stay tuned to Motoroids for more dope on the Mahindra XUV500 Automatic.
Spy pics via : Motorbeam
when is Renault duster diesel automatic planned to be launched. the rumour is Jan-2015, is it true? Mahindra, ecosport & Hyundai are launching Diesel automatic in 2015. Renault duster has to launch diesel automatic to stay in competition