Mahindra & Mahindra has one of the versatile compact SUV portfolios in the country. The Mumbai based automaker currently sells KUV100, NuvoSport and TUV300 in the segment. Now, the company seems to have found space for yet another SUV in its portfolio.
Also read: All you need to know on upcoming Mahindra U321 Premium MPV
In the second half of the next financial year, Mahindra will launch a stylish new SUV codenamed S201, reports MoneyControl. The compact SUV will be based on X100 platform which currently underpins SsangYong Tivoli. The report also confirms the S201 will be positioned between the KUV100 and TUV300 and will take on the likes of Ford Ecosport, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and soon-to-be-launched Tata Nexon.
Though the specific details on the S201 is not available yet, previous reports said Mahindra is working on another SUV with the specification of a car. The S201 most likely will be this project. In October 2016, Livemint quoted Dr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, saying "If the customer is saying I want only a UV look, and everything else should be like a passenger car, we have to design that. That's the change that has to... will come in our product planning. We may have to look at a platform that just looks like a UV but is a passenger car." Making a blend of a car and SUV will be serious task for Mahindra engineers. If they get it right, it will open a new segment in Indian automobile industry.
Along with the S201, the project U321 is the next major vehicle from Mahindra. The U321 will become a premium MPV rivaling Toyota Innova Crysta and Tata Hexa. Mahindra has recently confirmed its plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore on its Nasik and Igatpuri plants in Maharashtra ahead of U321's arrival.
With the new products, Mahindra will be hoping to regain its market share which has dropped from 56 per cent in 2012 to 29 percent by the end of last year.
Source: Moneycontrol
