 "Mahindra Scorpio")
Twelve years and two refreshes later, Mahindra & Mahindra's (M&M's) oldest warhorse, the Scorpio, got a fresh lease of life. The new platform that it now sports brings in features that are bound to make the car peppier. After all, younger rivals have come in to woo consumers who consider SUVs on an even keel with sedans for city drives, too.
The new Scorpio, launched last week, has technical changes, made possible by the new platform. There is a new set of creature comforts as well.
Pawan Goenka, executive director and president (automotive and farm equipment sectors), says, "The driving dynamics of the Scorpio had to improve the most, and handling also needed to be improved. An anti-roll bar, for better handling, which was not there earlier, was added. We have improved the technology of shock-absorbers to provide greater comfort. We have reduced the height but have given it larger tyres for a better suspension."
The Scorpio had to incorporate the changes as rivals, launched much later, were togged up with anti-roll bars and superior suspension. Both the Renault Duster and Ford EcoSport had the anti-roll bars, for example. The Duster dislodged the Scorpio in the calendar year of 2013, though the Scorpio reclaimed the top spot last financial year, selling 50,949 units as against 46,787 units of the Duster. The spot was retained by Scorpio in the first quarter of this year, too.
In terms of interiors and style, the Scorpio will sport a redesigned front and rear, for a more aggressive look. The car gets a touchscreen control panel, which again, rivals like the EcoSport and Duster had.
Goenka says that a new platform requires the same development cycle as that of a new vehicle being built ground-up. "It took us four years to come out with this. We decided in 2009 that rather than going for a refresh we are going to do a completely new product." The developmental cost this time was less than half of the original car (Rs 550 crore). M&M spent Rs 100 crore on the platform and Rs 150 crore on other improvements.
According to a senior M&M official, a total of 3,000 bookings were received within the first four days of the launch. The company had also tied up with multi-brand portal, Snapdeal, for a pre-booking scheme. M&M officials hope to maintain, if not improve, current monthly unit sales of around 4,200.
The Scorpio helped M&M break out of the mould of a tractor-manufacturer in 2002, to emerge as a utility-vehicle contender. Chairman Anand Mahindra recently said, "The future of M&M depended on how Scorpio performed in the market".
Having yearly sales of around 50,000 units in the last three years, with last year being the best, the Scorpio remains the flagship for the Mumbai-based company, despite its Bolero being a best-seller and the XUV500 succeeding as a premium SUV.
Goenka, often regarded as the father of the Scorpio, says its unique proposition is its ladder-frame technology, which is preferred by off-roading enthusiasts. "Not too many players are looking at ladder frames. Users who really like SUVs will want to have a vehicle like this. Scorpio is a driver's vehicle."
Deepesh Rathore, director, Emerging Markets Automotive Advisors (EMMAAA), says, "The problem is that it is very difficult for another company to develop a worthy rival for the Scorpio. The volumes of ladder-frame SUVs at the price-point of the Scorpio are about 7,000 units per month and the Scorpio corners most of it. Most global manufacturers have moved to monocoque construction for their new-generation SUVs and that
takes them out of the reckoning. To develop a new ladder-frame chassis would be too costly and not justified by the volumes."
Ladder-frame SUVs are said to handle abuse and rough roads better; being heavier than monocoque cars, are more stable when off-roading. However, a monocoque chassis being lighter, is more fuel-efficient and offers more riding comfort. But it is also costlier to develop, and hence, the competition's unwillingness to relook at ladder-frames after developing a monocoque frame, that is also more favourable to city-driving.
M&M sticking with ladder frames also meant that the Scorpio needed comfort (both cabin and driving) boosts to avoid being trumped by the new crop of SUVs. More so since Goenka wants the Scorpio to remain a self-driven SUV. "There have been some complaints about lack of space in the third row (of the Scorpio) but so be it. It is meant for driving. We did not want to change the strengths of Scorpio", Goenka says.
However, the engine options remain the same - mHawk and M2diCR. Unlike arch rival Duster that has a petrol engine, M&M has no plans to add one to the Scorpio's offering, otherwise made available in the export market.
The top-end variant of the new Scorpio at Rs 11.46 lakh is priced higher than the entry-variant of the XUV500 at Rs 10.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai), stoking fears of cannibalization. However, Goenka says, "Scorpio is a true-blue SUV with a ladder frame, XUV 500 is a monocoque. So, if one considers the XUV, he won't buy the Scorpio and vice-versa", Goenka says.
The new Scorpio's platform would lead to two more products. As for the road-worthiness of the Scorpio when owners look for a sporty but comfortable SUV, the new platform is geared up to deliver just that.
