Mahindra promises five new models by 2020

Mahindra has come out swinging after a period of relative hiatus, promising five new models – three of them new to Australia – by 2020.

Speaking at last week’s launch of the new turbo-petrol XUV500 seven-seat SUV, the Indian car-maker’s international operations chief, Arvind Mathew, said the first will be an all-new compact SUV in 12 to 18 months.

To be positioned beneath the XUV500 at the bottom of the Mahindra SUV line-up, the unnamed small crossover will be based on the same platform as the Ssangyong Tivoli.

The Tivoli has never been sold in Australia, where Mahindra’s Korean-based Ssangyong brand remains absent as it establishes a factory-owned sales and distribution channel.

However, Mahindra has leveraged Ssangyong to co-develop three new platforms that will also underpin replacements for the current XUV500 and PikUp ute.

The latter will form the basis for a new-generation Mahindra Scorpio -- a ladder-framed off-road SUV to rival the Toyota Fortuner -- and an all-new off-roader to rival the Wrangler.

“Over the next three years there will be a compact SUV, there will be platform changes for XUV, platform changes for Pik-Up,” he said.

Mathew said all these models, which will begin appearing after the release of the automatic PikUp next year, will be developed to meet global emissions and crash safety regulations.

Until then, the XUV500 will continue with a four-star ANCAP safety rating.

“Going up from four to five [stars], you really need a new platform,” said Mathew. “You cannot do cut and paste anymore, it’s fundamental to the platform.”

One of the most interesting new Mahindras coming is a replacement for India’s tough Thar off-road SUV, which has just been launched in the US as the Roxor (pictured).

Although the Jeep Wrangler-style Roxor side-by-side, which shares some of its DNA with the original Willys Jeep, is not road-legal in North America, Mathew said its replacement will be.

“The one that is out there does not meet Australian regs for crash, but the next generation will,” he said.

Built in Detroit by Mahindra Automotive North America (MANA), the Roxor is unlike side-by-side competitors like the Polaris RZR ATV and the Kawasaki Mule Pro.

While most side-by-side vehicles come with smaller twin-cylinder engines and belt-drive, the Roxor is powered by a Euro 6 emissions-compliant 194Nm 2.5-litrre four-cylinder turbo-diesel and five-speed manual transmission.

Based around a boxed-steel ladder frame and wrapped in a stainless steel body, the Roxor comes with leaf-spring suspension at both ends and a two-speed transfer case.

Mahindra & Mahindra managing director Pawan Goenka said the Roxor was designed specifically for the US, where it will be a “game-changer” in the side-by-side class.

Mahindra does not sell passenger vehicles in the US, where the Roxor’s main customers will be farmers and recreational users, in part because it will be limited to 72km/h.

“Mahindra’s 70-year automotive history has been forged by making authentic, rugged, purpose-driven vehicles; Roxor is the embodiment of this history and our brand,” he said.

“The Roxor is going to start a new journey for Mahindra in the US, establishing our reputation of offering tough, durable and rugged off-road vehicles, just like what we have accomplished with our tractors being sold here.”

In the US, the Roxor will be available with no fewer than 900 paint colours and a host of other options like safari seats, rear seats, lift kits, hard-tops, winches and side enclosures.

Interestingly, the Roxor features a five-bar grille rather than the seven bars that appear on other current Mahindra – and Jeep – models.

Mahindra has assembled the American Willys Jeep under license in India since the 1940s, but no longer holds the rights to the Jeep brand.

Therefore Mahindra’s Roxor/Thar replacement is expected to grow into a larger, more refined – but no less capable – cut-price rival for Jeep’s new Wrangler.

What’s coming from Mahindra:
Compact SUV
New XUV500
New Pik-Up
New Scorpio
New Roxor/Thar