Mahindra Scorpio, XUV500 with petrol engine to be launched this year

Mahindra & Mahindra is the one of the worst affected vehicle makers in the country after the ban on registration of diesel vehicles over 2000cc was declared in Delhi-NCR. As the ban may get extended to other cities, Mahindra now plans to launch petrol-powered versions of its popular models — the Scorpio and the XUV500.

"Despite being a diesel player, we had a feeling that a diesel-only approach may not be good enough. Now, we will launch the Scorpio and XUV500 in petrol this year and in future all vehicles will have both options," said Pawan Goenka, the Executive Director of M&M, reports ET Auto.

The Scorpio and the XUV500 are now sold with 2.2 diesel engines across the country. Mahindra downsized this engine to 1997cc to sell both the vehicles in Delhi-NCR in January, the first month after the ban was imposed. The petrol engine for Scorpio and XUV500 is rumoured to be a 2.2-litre unit.

The company has already divulged its plans to invest Rs. 1,000 crore over the next two-three years for the vehicles with petrol engines. According to reports, Mahindra & Mahindra is currently working on at least four petrol engines. The engines in works are with 1.5-litre and 1.6-litre capacity that will be developed in-house, while the 2.2-litre petrol unit will be manufactured along with its subsidiary, SsangYong Motor Company (SMC). The first petrol engine, jointly developed by Mahindra and SMC, is the 1.2-litre mFalcon G80. This engine currently powers the newly-launched KUV100 compact SUV of Mahindra.