Mahindra’s full-electric compact SUV will be based on the upcoming XUV300 and is expected to have highly capable battery range
As part of introducing new generation vehicles pertaining to modern customers, Mahindra & Mahindra will be launching its fourth subcompact SUV in India in February 2019. Christened the XUV300 to maintain the traditional lineage with the bigger XUV500, the SUV is the most significant product to come out of the largest UV maker in the country in recent years as far as volumes are concerned.
While the Mahindra XUV300 will go up against segment’s popular Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon and Ford EcoSport, it will be tasked with more variants in the near future as well. The homegrown automaker has a telling presence in the EV space with e2o and e-Verito among all manufacturers but they could not make a strong statement due to cost and other practical reasons as EV infrastructure is not just there for common people.
While Mahindra is speculated to reveal an electrified variant of KUV100 next year, it is also working on a zero-emission SUV based on the XUV300. Mahindra is looking to have a head-start among mainstream brands as far as eco-friendly vehicles are concerned and its relationship with SsangYong and track learning from Formula E should come in handy.
Slated to arrive in the middle parts of 2020, the XUV300 based electric SUV could debut at around the same time as Korando EV – SsangYong’s first fully fledged e-SUV. The battery-powered Mahindra SUV is expected to be based on the flexible MESMA platform (Mahindra Electric Scalable Modular Architecture) and could cover a distance of 250 km on a single charge with top speed claimed at 150 kmph.
Mahindra will likely take design inputs from famed Italian design house Pininfarina and it could have a unique exterior compared to the regular XUV300 despite being based on it. Mahindra showcased several EV concepts at the 2018 Auto Expo earlier this year and it pointed the finger at where the brand is heading towards in terms of future mobility.
The Mumbai-headquartered company’s tie-up with Ford will also play a decisive role in developing electric vehicles. The arrival of an electric sedan in the coming years cannot be ruled out either according to media reports, and the e-KUV should give us some definitive idea into how things will stack up in 2019.
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