Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is rolling out India’s first sub Rs 5-lakh sports-utility vehicle — a compact version of the Xylo — this year. The company is working on introducing a mini version of the Xylo in the Rs 4.5-5 lakh range, or 35-40% cheaper than the existing base model, by 2011.

 

M&M is planning to shorten the length of the vehicle to within four metres so it attracts a lower excise duty of 10% compared to 22% for bigger cars and utility vehicles. If it manages to bring down the Xylo’s price to less than Rs 5 lakh, the SUV will enter a price band that accounts for 60% of the country’s car sales.

 

The compact Xylo will sport a much smaller engine than the 2.5-litre diesel engine that powers the vehicle now and Mahindra is yet to decide on the number of seats in the new vehicle.

 

Compact SUV market is an untapped segment in India where the only available vehicle is the recently launched Rio, a 5-seater SUV marketed by Premier. It uses body parts from a Chinese auto company Zotye and is priced in a range of Rs 5.6-6 lakh. Premier has sold around 200 Rios since January 2010.

 

M&M is also planning to launch a micro-hybrid version of the Xylo before the year-end. The Xylo, which is the most ambitious project of M&M after the Scorpio, is currently priced in the range of Rs 7.57 lakh to Rs 9.69 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai). It is produced on the same assembly line as the Scorpio. crackcrack

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