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.
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.