Last week we reported that Tata and Mahindra are working on their respective compact SUV to compete against Ford EcoSport and Renault Duster. Well, what’s interesting is that Mahindra is not working on one, but two compact SUV for next year.
The news comes from Pawan Goenka, Executive Director and President — Automotive, Farm Equipment and Two-Wheelers, M&M, who, in an interview to Hindu confirmed that the company is working on two compact SUVs and will introduce them in 2015.
Goenka said, “We would have been more comfortable if new products had been launched this year rather than the next. The change or impetus for compact SUVs happened a year sooner than we thought. That’s the way I would put it. We have two new products coming out next year which are in the compact SUV segment. Once we have them, then we’ll have a strong line-up in the segment.”
Mahindra has been testing the a compact SUV (codenamed S101) in India which was caught during camouflaged tests in real road conditions. Powering the S101 is expected to be the same 1.5-litre twin-turbo diesel powertrain that is found on the Quanto. The petrol unit is expected to be borrowed from Mahindra’s Korean partner SsangYong.
The second compact SUV is expected to be replacement for company’s work horse, Bolero (codenamed U301). Since Bolero was a multi purpose vehicle, Mahindra is more likely to give the U301 a tougher chassis and provide more strength. No other details are yet found on this vehicle.
Other companies are also likely to join the race soon as test mules of various compact SUVs have been spotted while testing on Indian roads.
Could these two Mahindra compact SUVs take on competition from the global competitors as well as from local manufacturers? Stay tuned into Motoroids as we get you more updates. Do share your thoughts through comments below.
Source: The Hindu