Leader of the sports utility vehicle segment Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), today launched the Xylo, a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), at an introductory price of Rs 624,500 (ex-showroom Delhi).
Pegged by the company as the world’s most affordable utility vehicle, the Xylo is targeted at the premium 'C' segment sedan buyers as well as Toyota’s Innova, which is also the country’s largest selling MPV.
This is the company’s first new model after a gap of six years, when the company launched the Scorpio in 2002. The launch also comes at a time when the company posted a flat growth during the nine months ended December 2008 at 105,565 units.
Anand Mahindra, vice chairman and managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said: “There is pressure on the market. But if one comes out with the right product at the right time then it can tap a huge demand.”
Since the Xylo will attract buyers of the Logan sedan (a product jointly made by Mahindra and Renault) also, Mahindra commented, “As long as everyone fights within the rules competition is welcomed.”
The car will be available only in diesel variant for now but M&M is also working on petrol engines, which will be incorporated in the Xylo in less than two years.
Since the vehicle is sharing the platform with the Scorpio (SUV), the company said that it can adjust to vehicle’s demand as both vehicles share the same production line at Nashik factory, where the model will be built.
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About 1,500 units of the Xylo have been built so far at the plant, which has an initial capacity of 25,000 units. By the end of this month about 3,000 Xylo’s will have been built.
On a per day basis, the company will produce 60 units of the vehicle, which will be ramped up to 100 units by March. However, Scorpio’s daily production, which stands at 60 will depend on the market demand, said company officials.
The company is targeting to build 250 vehicles per day (Scorpio and Xylo combined) operating in two shifts. Currently, the company is working on single shift.
Bookings for the Xylo will open tomorrow with 36 dealers, which will be expanded to 90 dealers by February end. The company has a total of 120-130 dealers that sells passenger vehicles.
The Xylo has an indigenous content of 85-95 per cent with only the ride and handling details done by the Lotus company, while an Italian company has helped M&M with styling. The company has invested a total of Rs 550 crore into the project, which began four years ago.
The company will also start exports of Xylo to South Africa, which is also a right-hand-drive market, before March. Exports to Europe will commence after one year as the left hand drive version is under development.
M&M also said that it will launch an SUV in less than two years, which will be placed higher than the Scorpio. It will also launch about 2-3 new models based on the Scorpio/Xylo platform in the next few years.
The base variant of the Xylo – E2, which comes with power steering, power windows, central locking is priced at Rs 624,500 while the top-end variant-E8 loaded with further additions like alloy wheels, fabric seats, reverse fog lamps, costs 769,500 (ex-showroom Delhi).