Mahindra Mahindra Ltd (M&M) has added a new compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) to its portfolio of UVs with the launch of the TUV 3OO (TUV 3-double O).

Developed on a new platform, the sub-4m-vehicle is available in three variants (T4, T6, T8) that are being offered at an introductory price of ₹6.9 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune) for the basic model and for ₹9.12 lakh for top end one. All the variants are BS 4 compliant and will take on models like the Ford EcoSport, Hyundai’s newly-launched Creta and Renault’s Duster.

Currently the only sub-₹10 lakh SUV in the country with automated manual transmission (AMT) technology, the TUV 3OO will be built at the plant in Chakan where M&M has an installed capacity of 5,000 units a month. M&M also plans to sell the vehicle overseas and expects to begin sales in South Africa in a few weeks time, and also tap neighbouring markets.

‘Comfortably placed’ Speaking at the launch at the Chakan plant today, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra group, said the threat to carmakers today came from the age of access. “The Olas and Ubers of the world are going to affect sales in the auto industry,” he quipped adding that M&M was in a sweet spot with products that straddled both the worlds – fleet owners and private car owners.

Vehicle specifications Built on M&M’s third generation chassis base with cushion suspension technology, the SUV has a 1.5-litre mHawk engine with a two-stage turbocharger and a rear wheel drive. Around 1,600 people of a total manpower strength of 5,500 people are engaged on the TUV 3OO assembly line.

Revealing that around ₹1,200 crore had gone into product development – ₹200 crore of which went into developing the new engine – and vendors have invested another ₹300 crore in the project, Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, M&M, said the new platform will in time be the company’s primary chassis-based platform.

A petrol engine for S101 Elaborating on the second small SUV, code-named S101, that is due for launch later during this fiscal, Goenka said this vehicle will have the first petrol engine from M&M.

In association with its subsidiary Ssangyong, M&M is developing a portfolio of petrol engines in three displacement ranges – 1.2 litre, 1.5 litre and 2 litre – he said, adding that if customers want it, the company can do gasoline options available across its range of vehicles.

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