Mahindra 2011: All-New World SUV, 2nd Gen Scorpio Retains Body on Frame, Xylo Gets 4WD

India’s Business Standard Motoring reports this morning on some future Mahindra products. It’s difficult to understand exactly what they are getting across about some models. To hopefully provide some better understanding, we will quote from the article, and comment below it.

All-New World SUV
BSM: “The world SUV that is to emerge from Mahindra's Chakan facility in 2011 is the third SUV in the lineup and will be priced in the range of Rs 16-18 lakh. A more powerful diesel engine and an automatic gearbox apart, the world SUV will also have automatic climate control, cruise control and ESP. Aimed at the likes of the Chevrolet Captiva and the Toyota Fortuner, this SUV would be primarily for export markets, apart from the local market with the aim of expanding the company's presence in the more developed markets such as the United States where the company is planning to begin the sale of its pickup trucks later this year.”
MP Interpretation: As we’ve reported before, an all-new Mahindra SUV with unitized construction is being (or has been) designed for release late this year or early 2011. As the article states, the intention of this SUV is to be a world market truck. We assume that this SUV is being designed with the US and European markets in mind first and foremost. The amenities are a given, but it is interesting that they mention a “more powerful diesel engine” for the new SUV.

Second Generation ScorpioBSM: “Sources suggest that apart from a new generation Scorpio, two more SUVs are in the pipeline.” “The new Scorpio could retain its body-on-ladder format and a new petrol engine is also being developed to be fit under the bonnet of the Scorpio and the world SUV.”

MP Interpretation: The confusing thing about these statements is that the Indian press often lumps together the Scorpio SUV and the Scorpio Getaway pickup (our TR20 and TR40) together. Either way, this statement continues to affirm previous rumors of a second generation SUV/pickup being developed. This also puts into question why Mahindra is bringing the first generation TR pickups to the US when the next generation is just on the horizon.

Xylo 4WDBSM: “According to sources, the Xylo has been designed to be a part time 4wd system using an advanced version of the Borg & Warner system. Reports seem to suggest that it could be a real-time all-wheel drive system like the Honda CR-V, where the focus is on road grip and tackling bad roads and not specifically as a pure off-roader. However, there is no confirmation yet whether Mahindra will adopt such a system. The Xylo 4x4 would end up becoming the first MPV in the country with a 4-wheel drive system, but it remains to be seen how big a market is there for such a concept. Mahindra could also be seriously looking at the export markets such as South Africa for such a vehicle."

MP Interpretation: This article has a narrow focus on the Indian market. We believe the true intention of the Xylo 4WD system is for implementation in the Mahindra MUC which could be introduced in the US by 2012. MP has previously surmised that the MUC will be a pickup version of the Xylo. The addition of a 4WD or AWD system certainly emphasizes this theory.

The article also fuels the US launch delay fire with the statement: “…such as the United States where the company is planning to begin the sale of its pickup trucks later this year.” The statement is not well defined, but does not seem to suggest an immediate launch of US spec Mahindra vehicles.

Source: Business Standard, Motoring