ZigOpinion: 5 Reasons Why Mahindra Marazzo Didn’t Make The Cut In The Indian Market

The Mahindra Marazzo has been discontinued in the Indian market after a stint of nearly seven years. The Mahindra MPV faced the axed despite it being an extremely capable product. Quoting from our first drive review back in 2018, my colleague, Arun Shenoy, said, “For us, the Marazzo is a sign of things to come. For Mahindra, it definitely is a step in the right direction. As a product, the MPV feels mature and grown-up. We like the fact that the basics are done right. It’s spacious, comfortable and easy to drive on a daily basis. Sure, there are a few misses on the equipment front, but it isn’t exactly scantily equipped either.”

So despite having proper fundamentals, the Marazzo really didn’t take off for the SUV marque. Why did it fail and didn’t do well in the Indian market? Here are five reasons why we think the Marazzo failed:

Priced Higher Than The Ertiga

The Marazzo, at the time of its launch, was priced from Rs 9.99 lakh to Rs 13.9 lakh (ex-showroom). That was much higher than the Ertiga, which was priced from Rs 6.34 lakh to Rs 10.69 lakh back in the day. The Ertiga brand name was and continues to be extremely popular, which was super tough for the Marazzo take on. 

Yes, the Ertiga is a smaller model in terms of size and the Marazzo was positioned right above it. But the Maruti’s interior packaging and space was similar to the Marazzo. It must also be noted that the Ertiga, back in the day, came packed with petrol and diesel engines and an equal amount of features, which made it have a great value for money quotient and overall better appeal. 

Improved Competition 

The Marazzo, during its lifecycle, started facing much improved and tougher competition. The Ertiga got a massive generation around November 2018 with fresher styling, more features as well as updated petrol and diesel engines. 

Fast forward to 2022, the Kia Carens came into the picture with a starting price that undercut the Marazzo significantly. Also, the Carens came loaded to the brim with features, had three engine options with multiple transmission options and a strong variant lineup with multiple pictures. 

On the higher side of the spectrum, the Innova Crysta also got minor facelifts and updates, keeping it relevant in India even today. All of this brings us to the next point. 

No Updates Since Its Introduction 

The Marazzo stayed majorly the same in terms of design and features throughout its lifecycle. There was no facelift nor feature updates made to the MPV. Competition kept on moving on by luring buyers with a fresh design and even more features, the latter being a priority in the Indian car market. The only major update to the MPV was made back in August 2020, where it received an updated diesel engine and a revised variant lineup. 

This put the Marazzo at a backfoot as we explain about the same in the next point. 

Only One Engine Option 

The Marazzo was offered only with one engine option: a 123 PS 1.5-litre diesel engine, teamed with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Mind you, the engine, save for its tendency to stall at lower speeds, was quite an impressive unit. But with the availability of just a single powertrain, the Marazzo didn’t have the appeal of its rivals, which were offering both petrol and diesel options, as well as choice of an automatic transmission. 

Yes, there was news back in the day that the Marazzo will get an automatic transmission with the diesel engine and its variant lineup was also revealed at a RTO website. But nothing really materialised. 

MPVs Haven’t Really Worked For Mahindra In The Past 

Despite Mahindra SUVs selling like hotcakes, MPVs, as a product, haven't really worked for the manufacturer in the past. The brand tried their shot at MPVs with the Xylo earlier on, which really didn’t set the sales chart on fire either, finding more takers among fleet owners for commercial purposes. 

Mind you, the Marazzo was fundamentally miles ahead than the Xylo, be it in terms of its platform, engineering, features and even design. But despite all of that, the Marazzo sales numbers weren’t really what Mahindra was expecting, considering that the MPV segment was a booming one back in the day. 

It’s sad to see such a well engineered product face the axe, but Mahindra as a brand are mainly known for their SUVs. The last few months, sales have dwindled down to just two digit numbers. This makes sense for Mahindra to discontinue the model rather than carry on with a failing model.

What do you think? Should Mahindra give another shot in the competitive MPV segment or continue making SUVs only? Let us know in the comments.