New Mahindra Thar
New Mahindra Tharmahindrathar

Mahindra & Mahindra is one of the manufacturers which has been hit the worst by the Supreme Court order of Dec.16, 2016, banning registration of all diesel-run SUVs from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2016, to combat increasing pollution in the NCR. Mahindra quickly responded to the situation and launched newly developed 1.99-litre mHawk diesel in the Scorpio and the XUV500 on Jan. 22. Going forward, the company known for diesel-powered utility vehicles is planning to strengthen the petrol engine line-up.

Mahindra & Mahindra is currently working on at least four petrol engines that will be fitted to the upcoming vehicles by the company. The engine in works is 1.5-litre and 1.6-litre that will be developed in-house, while the 2.2-litre petrol unit will be manufactured with its subsidiary, SsangYong Motor Company (SMC), reports the ET Auto. 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.

"Over the next two-three years, we will end up spending Rs 1,000 crore in putting petrol engines in our vehicles. We are working on 1.5-litre petrol engine right now. The 2.2-litre petrol will come in Scorpio and XUV500 in mid-term" said M&M Executive Director Pawan Goenka to the ET Auto.

The company informed early this month that it will invest Rs 8,000 crore on its automotive plants in Maharashtra over the next seven years as part of its expansion plans. The investment will be utilised for infrastructure development, product development and capacity expansion at its four plants in the state -- Chakan (Pune), Nashik, Kandivali and Igatpuri.