S201, XUV700 To Follow Mahindra Marazzo Launch In 2018

Mahindra has been fairly quiet this year with the new products being just the TUV300 Plus and the XUV500 facelift. Both of which were in the pipeline since last year. But now, the Indian 'SUV' maker seems to be on a spree of launching new products. Mahindra has confirmed that we can look forward to two new launches during the festive season this year as well as the much-anticipated XUV700 early in 2019. So let’s take a look at what we can expect to see from Mahindra to close out 2018.

After the naming ceremony of their upcoming MPV - the Marazzo we now know that the U321 (codename) is most likely to be the first launch before the festive season. This people wagon will be Mahindra’s first monocoque-bodied large vehicle and also the first product to be developed by Mahindra’s North American technical centre. When launched in September 2018, it will fill the huge gap between the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and the Toyota Innova Crysta with prices expected to range from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 14 lakh, ex-showroom.

If you have been following the news, you may remember  find images of two small-size Mahindra test vehicles making rounds in a camouflaged, albeit production-spec avatar. These SsangYong Tivoli-based vehicles, codenamed S201 look set to take on two very popular segments in the market. One is certain to take on the likes of the Hyundai Creta and the Maruti S-Cross. The other seems small enough to fit into the sub-4 metre regulations and hence, go up against the Maruti Vitara Brezza and the Tata Nexon.

Considering the segment regulations, you can expect the mFalcon 1.2-litre engine to be the petrol option for the S201. A 1.5-litre diesel is expected to be the diesel engine of choice. For the larger compact SUV that doesn’t have to comply with the sub-4 meter regulations, we can expect to see the new 1.5-litre petrol engine that will also power the upcoming Marazzo. The diesel option for the same could be a 1.6-litre diesel that has been jointly developed by Mahindra and SsangYong.

And with all this action, Mahindra is also promising two more product refreshes in 2018. Looking further forward, Mahindra has confirmed that both the Thar and the Scorpio will be seeing complete platform updates in 2020. So, while the first half of 2018 has been a quiet year for the homegrown carmaker so far, the second half promises to be a whirlwind of activity with still more action to come in the next two years.