Mahindra developing a small car - Codenamed BRL

[ashutoshb]

M&M to enter small car segment in India

NDTV has learnt that M&M is developing small cars that are internally codenamed S101, S102 and S103.

The new platform for the small car is being developed in-house.

Mahindra is expected to launch small cars by FY’2014 in the price range of Rs 2-5 lakh.

The small car portfolio will complement Logan and its future variants.

Mahindra will work towards synergising Reva operations with new project.

Full article: M&M to enter small car segment in India - NDTV Profit

[aaggoswami]

Is this in any way related to the 5 seater Xylo reported earlier ? I think that 5 seater vehicle with that Xylo looks was just to confuse others. May be they are testing new platform for further improvements.

IMO, it would be nice if Mahindra and Mahindra finds some partner, may be PSA. The cars PSA has in their range are reasonably good, M&M nameplate is strong. Its own model is slightly out of image from M&M. But this new internally developed small cars might be a good surprise. May be the competition at that time will have to think twice ( just as everybody was surprised when Scorpio came out ).

[SRK]

Will Mahindra also outsource for designing?
Got news they have roped in an Italian design firm.

[MAS]

Mahindra seem to have too many things in their hands.

The Kinetic scooter take over is yet to take off in volumes. The Reva project, the Ssangyong project, the bigger SUV project, the 5 seater Xylo and now this new small car project.

It is nice to see that an Indian company is making such quick progress.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

No wonder why I am seeing so many small cars moving in/around the plant.

Spike

[benkey2]

Originally Posted by SRK

Will Mahindra also outsource for designing?
Got news they have roped in an Italian design firm.

I m not sure about this, but scorpio exterior was designed by Fords subsidiary company Visteon

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

AFAIK, Visteon does not deal in Body panel/sheet metal parts. They supply parts like inter coolers, radiators etc. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Spike

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

I guess there is some probability that MaHINDRA will put Logan's platform to effective use for their small car. Acquiring of Logan has put Mahindra in excellent position to enter the segment without a JV.
Lets see if there is some more news about it in near-future.


Regards.

[AyAn!]

This is good news! It'll also be interesting to see what M&M plans about the petrol mills in the small cars.Wonder if they'll develop one in house or use the Logan's. That reminds one of the Renault sourced petrol engined,and rather forgettable, Scorpio REV116.

[karpusv]

Read somewhere that they roped in Italian Design House Stile Bertone to design this car.

Surprisingly, even the xylo was designed by Stile Bertone in its initial stages after which M&M apparently bloated it.

[gshanky]

I hope all of these small cars are having either electric or hybrid powerplants. Since they already have electric two wheelers, the REVA investment could fast track the foray into electric cars.

From two wheelers to cars/suvs to Heavy Trucks to Airplanes - mahindra is almost in all things travel.

[getsurya]

I only hope they do not take more than they can chew! Time for consolidation M&M!!
One big change required ASAP is to recast your Design team

[GTO]

Doesn't this development (Mahindra acquires majority ownership of Reva (Electric Cars)) fit perfectly well into the Mahindra small car plan?

Man, I really have to hand it to Mahindra. Over the last decade, they've launched the Scorpio (a proper SUV, unlike their previous attempts), the Xylo (VFM people mover), took the Bolero to entirely new heights (touching 7,000 units a month!!), the Logan (good sedan but market dud), tapped into the two wheeler segment, enhanced their CV portfolio, bought out Renault from their JV, took majority control of Maini Reva, is entering the USA market soon and now small cars!! Of course, there is that interesting 4x4 called the Thar coming up too

You can bet that any Mahindra small car will be robust, and offer diesel and / or electric powertrains. It's their first small car, so we shouldn't expect brilliance in packaging (even the Scorpio is short on space). Maruti, Tata, Hyundai, Ford and Chevy (in that order) aren't going to give up the marketshare too easily. Then, there are a couple of new players poised to enter the B segment (starting next month with the Nissan Micra). Mahindra better come prepared, and create some USP. The Logan ought to have given Mahindra a wake-up call that the sedan / hatch segment isn't as simple as UVs.

[prince_pervez]

Well, best of luck to M&M. They are not having any luck selling sedans. Lets see how they can match up with the small car market which they will have to create a market share of the jam pack list. Usually the market tends to look up to the next best thing to hatches, the sedans. And I am sure the consumer is going to take their hatches with a wait and watch policy.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by GTO

Doesn't this development (Mahindra acquires majority ownership of Reva (Electric Cars)) fit perfectly well into the Mahindra small car plan?

Man, I really have to hand it to Mahindra. Over the last decade, they've launched the Scorpio (a proper SUV, unlike their previous attempts), the Xylo (VFM people mover), took the Bolero to entirely new heights (touching 7,000 units a month!!), the Logan (good sedan but market dud), tapped into the two wheeler segment, enhanced their CV portfolio, bought out Renault from their JV, took majority control of Maini Reva, is entering the USA market soon and now small cars!! Of course, there is that interesting 4x4 called the Thar coming up too

You can bet that any Mahindra small car will be robust, and offer diesel and / or electric powertrains. It's their first small car, so we shouldn't expect brilliance in packaging (even the Scorpio is short on space). Maruti, Tata, Hyundai, Ford and Chevy (in that order) aren't going to give up the marketshare too easily. Then, there are a couple of new players poised to enter the B segment (starting next month with the Nissan Micra). Mahindra better come prepared, and create some USP. The Logan ought to have given Mahindra a wake-up call that the sedan / hatch segment isn't as simple as UVs.

The Reva buyout does fit in. I have some grouses against Mahindra, but that doesn't blind me from the fact that they understand the Indian market better than most (even more than Tata as far as UVs are concerned).

I do not like the way their cars are styled (I think the original Scorpio looked better than the current one, same with the Bolero) and I consider their offroaders to be the only good vehicles they've ever made. That's because they were uncompromising offroaders and they weren't focused on bling. The Logan was not their design, so I do not blame them for it.

The point I am trying to make is that they should outsource the design for their small car (like the Tata's did for the Indica). Tata's have got their design right, and Mahindra cannot compete with Tata as far as pricing is concerned (the Vista is already priced amazingly well), so they cannot afford to mess up the design.

Also, I think "robustness" is something that is easier to associate with a UV/Jeep, for the small car they need finesse. Something that the only other Indian manufacturer of significance (Tata) is finally coming around to.