Mahindra XUV400 was initially expected to be a mid-size SUV co-developed with Ford under the S204 codename
Mahindra & Mahindra is working on a number of new products for launch over the next five years as it plans to expand into new segments while introducing new vehicles in the already existing segments to strengthen its market share. The homegrown SUV specialist will bring in a range of electric vehicles as well and some of them were previewed via concepts.
If Mahindra’s strategy goes according to the plan, Mahinda might have as many as 13 new vehicles and of them, eight will be electrified. Mahindra will launch the electric version of the KUV NXT while the XUV700 could also run on battery power in the near future, and between them, the XUV400 could sit in according to recent reports.
This will be nothing but the electrified version of the XUV300 compact SUV, which was previewed in its near-production form at the 2020 Auto Expo as eXUV300. In a recent press conference, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto and Farm Sectors at Mahindra Group told that the electric compact SUV could be christened the XUV400 but it has not been finalised yet.
He believes, “it has an opportunity to be named differently” while acknowledging that this is still a codename. The XUV400 was supposed to be a midsize SUV that would directly rival the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, VW Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, MG Astor and Nissan Kicks with an overall length of around 4.3 metres and it would be positioned above the XUV300.
It would fit below the XUV500, no longer available in the domestic market, as what has been internally codenamed S204 was co-developed with Ford and we all knew how that ended up. Underpinned by MESMA (Mahindra Electric Scalable and Modular Architecture), the eXUV300 was said to be the first of many new-age Mahindra electric vehicles.
The Mahindra XUV400/eXUV300 could go on sale sometime in 2023 or a year later and it will have exterior changes to differentiate itself from the regular IC-engined variant. It will more likely be offered in two battery configurations – one targetting the market share of Tata Nexon EV (India’s best-selling passenger electric car) and the other with higher range capabilities.