XUV400 will be longer than XUV300 and will have similar dimensions and proportions as SsangYong Tivoli
Mahindra has firmly established itself as a UV maker and not a carmaker in India. Mahindra has been slowly phasing out everything that ain’t an SUV or a MUV. KUV100 100 and Marazzo remain, but they hardly sell, as seen in our sales breakup. In June 2022 Marazzo sold just 124 units and KUV100 sold 0. Ouch!
After setting foot in UV segment, Mahindra now wants to do the same thing with EV segment. Right now, Tata Motors is the king of electric car segment and Mahindra wants to eat into its share. In this light, Mahindra has bet big on EVs and will unveil five new global electric SUVs under Born Electric series on August 15.
But they are global electric SUVs and won’t come cheap. So, for mainstream market where Nexon EV has a stronghold, Mahindra will launch the XUV400 electric. We have seen spy shots of XUV400 electric in the factory before. But now, it is found testing on road, credit to YouTube channel Auto Comparo.
Mahindra XUV400 Electric SUV
The main highlight of XUV400 electric is that it is not a chopped SsangYong Tivoli to fit under 4 meters. SsangYong Tivoli was chopped up to create XUV300 to get the B-segment tax benefits. But for EVs, that doesn’t hold at all. S0, Mahindra has chosen to retain Tivoli’s original length which will be around 4.2m.
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This size increment makes sure that XUV400’s boot space doesn’t suck like XUV300’s. Also, its proportions will be nicer. The test mule is heavily camouflaged, but we can immediately recognise the XUV300 Electric concept that Mahindra showcased at 2020 Auto Expo. It has the same shape for front headlights and boomerang-shaped LED DRLs. The futuristic LED bulbs in concept will be replaced to accommodate practical bulbs.
XUV400 Electric retains the closed-off grille and lower bumper design from its concept though. Production-spec model has a small air dam at the bottom which was closed off in the concept. Interior, however, was similar to the outgoing XUV300 and we expect Mahindra to give enough wow factors like Adreno-X infotainment and more.
Powertrain & Launch
Mahindra has also stated that XUV400 Electric will source high-energy-dense NMC cells from LG Chem. NMC cells are superior to the cylindrical LFP cells found on Nexon EV and EV Max. With this move, XUV300 Electric might be more powerful and have a longer range than Tata’s EVs.
In effect, we can expect around 150 bhp of power and over 400 km of range from a single charge. This will be enough to compete against the current highest-selling EVs, Tata Nexon EV Prime and Nexon EV Max. Mahindra hasn’t yet announced a timeline for the launch of XUV400 Electric. But we can expect it to launch by the end of this year or Q1 2023. When launched, it will have all the features XUV300 has and then more.
Currently, Nexon EV Prime prices start from Rs. 14.99 and get a 30.2 kWh battery and promise a claimed range of 312 km. Whereas, Nexon EV Max prices start from Rs. 18.34 lakh (both prices ex-sh) and get 40.5 kWh and promise a claimed range of 437 km. It will be interesting to see where Mahindra XUV400 Electric falls and how it will impact current electric car sales in India.
Source: Electric - rushlane.com
