Mahindra and Mahindra has been present in India for decades now. The automobile manufacturer started its journey by assembling Jeep and till the present, it remains an SUV-focussed brand. Over the years, Mahindra did launch various body styles including sedans but at present, the brand only offers SUVs and MUVs in various shapes and sizes. Mahindra has now announced that they will focus exclusively on proper SUVs and there is no plan to launch a hatchback or a sedan in the future.

Anish Shah, MD and CEO of Mahindra and Mahindra took charge of the position earlier this month. He revealed to ETAuto that Mahindra will work on its true blue larger SUVs and its core products that adds to its legacy and heritage.

Citing the super sale of the Mahindra Thar, which has received more than 50,000 bookings, Anish said that the company will stick to true blue SUVs in the future too. The entry-level model from Mahindra would be around the Bolero, XUV300, Thar and then moving up to the likes of Mahindra XUV500. Mahindra may launch new products under the Pininfarina brand to take on the likes of Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour in the market.

Existing products to be discontinued slowly

Anish Shah also said that the current Mahindra products that do not fall into the future strategy of the brand, will be discontinued gradually or by the end of the product cycle. Cars like KUV100 are likely to discontinue in the future. While other key products like the Scorpio and the XUV500 will get massive updates and full model changes in the coming months. In fact, Mahindra XUV500’s launch is only a couple of months away.

Mahindra is also shedding weight and scaling down its business in North America. Back home, Mahindra and Mahindra will stick to the core business model that is focussing on the SUVs. With the new players and existing manufacturers like Tata Motors, MG Motors, Hyundai and more have vehicles to take on the Mahindra cars.

Anish Shah also says that the Mahindra Thar is off with a flying start and future products like the XUV500 and the Scorpio will further strengthening the portfolio of the brand.

Chipset shortage

Mahindra planned to launch the all-new XUV500 much earlier. However, like all the manufacturers, it is also facing a severe shortage in the chipsets. The shortage also impacts the manufacturing and production of the all-new Mahindra Thar, which is why there is a massive waiting period on the vehicle. Even though Mahindra has increased the overall production of the vehicles, the waiting period of the Thar is currently over a year in a few cities.

Mahindra will power all its upcoming SUVs with the new-age engine line-up. The all-new XUV500 and the Scorpio will offer powerful 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine options along with the diesel engine option.