Mahindra is the company that has a a lot of experience producing SUVs but when it has come to sedans and hatches, luck has not really favoured the manufacturer. It entered into a partnership with Renault and launched the Logan but the partnership fell on its face. Recently, it launched the hatchback version of the Verito, the Verito Vibe but even that has sales numbers Mahindra would not be really proud of. Now reports suggest Mahindra working on a new small car that will be based on the Verito Vibe but will be slotted below it. Now there are a lot of people out there who find the styling of the Vibe to be a bit lazy, Mahindra has been criticised for taking the easy way out in terms of the Vibe’s design. You need not worry though, the new car will wear totally different clothes and will be a better engineered unit.
The car will come in petrol and diesel guise and these will be the units that are currently being developed by the company. These engines will also make their way on to the upcoming compact SUV from Mahindra, the S101. Mahindra has been using borrowed engines for its cars for a while but now it plans on using the in-house units in the cars. It will be slotted in the Rs 3.5-4 lakh price bracket where it will be competing with the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R and Hyundai i10.
It is expected to be quite the fuel efficient car with a low cost of maintenance. In a segment where people decide the car based on the fuel efficiency, having a car that offers the best-in-class fuel efficiency makes a lot of sense. The company has had SUVs as its strongest point but that may not be the case in the small car department as it has not done well in the past in the small car segment.
That said, it does not mean that the company will never do well in the small car segment. More than anything else, it will give Mahindra a brand presence in the lower priced segments. The company wants to spread its portfolio to all segments possible and having a small car with a high fuel efficiency in your portfolio is something any company would like to have, let alone Mahindra. It seems that the company is on the right track and more information will be revealed in the coming few months.
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