Mahindra Auto is stepping its game in the Indian automotive market in a multi-pronged approach. The company is strengthening its ICE portfolio with updated Thar OG and Scorpio N, while EV portfolio just saw an upgrade with BE 6 Sporteq. The company lacked in CNG realm, which will be fixed soon.
After the KUV100 Trip, Mahindra hasn’t really had a CNG offering in PV space. Now, that vacuum will be filled with XUV3XO CNG, which is set to launch on 15th of October. When launched, Mahindra XUV3XO CNG will go head to head with Tata Nexon i-CNG and Maruti Brezza S-CNG in the country.
Mahindra XUV3XO CNG
Tata Nexon is currently the only sub 4m SUV in India to offer 4 fuel options (Petrol, Diesel, CNG, EV) and Mahindra will soon join the same rank with XUV3XO CNG. Mahindra’s sub 4m monocoque SUV is already sold in Petrol, Diesel and EV fuel options and CNG is expected to launch on October 15th, opening a new chapter for Mahindra’s journey in India.
XUV3XO will likely offer CNG with its 1.2L MPFI engine, which is a turbocharged engine with around 110 bhp and 200 Nm, when run on Petrol fuel. When run on CNG fuel, there will be a slight drop in performance owing to the calorific value of Petrol and of CNG. Exact drop in performance will be revealed soon.
The most anticipated part of Mahindra XUV3XO CNG will be the CNG tank positioning. It is not confirmed whether Mahindra will go with single-cylinder CNG tank or dual-cylinder CNG tank layout, which Tata Motors popularised. If single-cylinder, it is open for speculation whether it will be positioned below the floor or in the boot area.
It has to be noted that Mahindra XUV3XO currently has the smallest boot in its competition and CNG variant (single tank or dual tank) will reduce cargo capacity further. Also, It is not clear whether spare wheel will be part of XUV3XO CNG or not.
What to expect?
Pricing will play a key role for Mahindra to make their way into India’s CNG market. Within the Sub 4m CNG SUVs, we have Tata Nexon i-CNG priced between Rs 8.35 lakh and Rs 13.42 lakh (Ex-sh) and then we have Maruti Suzuki Brezza S-CNG priced between Rs 9.4 lakh and Rs 11.76 lakh (Ex-sh).
Then we have Renault and Nissan offering CNG retrofitment solutions with Kiger and Magnite SUVs and they do not offer traditional factory-fitted CNG kits. More details about the Mahindra XUV3XO CNG will be revealed on October 15th.
Source – Autocar India
