Indian auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has launched its much awaited compact SUV, the TUV300. With an introductory price starting at Rs 6.9 lakh (ex-showroom Pune), it aims at strengthening its market share in the utility vehicles segment.
TUV300, which comes only with a diesel engine, is priced up to Rs 9.12 lakh for the top-end variant, which showcases the AMT (auto gear shift) technology.
The TUV300 embodies Mahindra’s tough and rugged DNA which makes me confident that it will be a brand creator in its segment and find favour both in India and globally.
— Anand Mahindra, Group Chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra
TUV300 will take on the likes of Ford EcoSport and Renault Duster that are priced between Rs 7.88 lakh and Rs 13.54 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
The TUV300 has been designed and developed in-house. Both the company and its suppliers have invested around Rs 1,500 crore for developing the vehicle.
The research and development of the model has been carried out at the Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai.
The vehicle will be manufactured at M&M’s Chakan plant, where it also produces trucks and other vehicles on the Maxximo platform.
Mahindra claimed that the vehicle, which is built on a completely new platform, offers an average of 18.49 km per litre.
TUV300 comes with a rear wheel drive, and boot space of 384 litres which can be expanded to 720 litres. It is equipped with a 1.5 litre diesel engine which delivers a power of 84 bhp.
Commenting on the production capacity, M&M Executive Director Pawan Goenka said the company has the capacity to produce 5,000 units of the TUV300 per month.
Production capacity can be further enhanced depending upon the market demand.
— Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra
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