Indian utility vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra will start exporting its latest entrant in the family sub-4 metre segment, the TUV300, to South Africa and neighbouring countries, a senior company official said during the launch event in Pune.
This second compact Mahindra SUV is built on a new platform developed for INR15bn (US$225m) which included about INR3bn from suppliers. This is the third SUV launch by the company in 2015 so far and six more are expected, ET Auto.com reported.
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But the company’s domestic sales have been in the red for the last few months. Anand Mahindra, group chairman, M&M, said: “We expect the SUV segment to grow. Currently it contributes 23% to overall passenger vehicle sales in the country and will grow up to 30%.”
Mahindra launched the vehicle in India priced between INR690,000 and INR912,000 with only a diesel engine. “We see over 90% of demand in utility vehicles coming from diesel segment. However we are working with Ssangyong to develop a family of petrol engines,” said Pawan Goenka, executive director Mahindra & Mahindra.
The TUV300 is also the first SUV to have an automated manual transmission option in India.
