[kgt.v8]

Originally Posted by harsh_66328

A simple colour change would be much neater.

Looks better than the stock one. The front black grille on the Roxx would make the Roxx look closer to blackish thick grille offered on 2024 Wrangler. I think Mahindra has taken clue from 2024 Wrangler front grille and came up with this new grille design. The older test mules which were seen about a year or so back did not seem to have this teethy grille.

You have already given some ideas to aftermarket accessory to create full black front grille.

The rear triangle might look good in person on darker color

[84.monsoon]

I think M&M would be in a bit of a quandary about pricing for the Thar Roxx. Even with all the gear the Roxx comes with, note that it is still not being positioned as a premium/luxury product or as a family car. All the commercials have been about a tough, go-anywhere product with tons of gadgets and gizmos and , and not about an alternative for adventurous family-oriented activities and use cases.

I feel the Thar RoXX would have to be positioned well below the ScorpioN in the price ladder due to a couple of reasons:

• It will be significantly shorter (4.3 meters versus 4.67 meters for ScorpioN)
• Missing the convenience of 3rd row seats for larger families or those with pets
• Missing features such as leatherette seats, Dual Zone AC, Electronic Terrain Selector, etc. which add to the luxury quotient of the car.

Given the ScorpioN ranges all the way from 13.8 lakhs to 24.5 lakhs, this leaves M&M in a difficult spot to differentiate the two on pricing. To get volumes, they have to get the broader market of customers with families, and not just off-road wannabes (who are more likely to be single, or buying a second car for weekend fun) - Families who are shopping for a butch SUV as their primary (and perhaps only) vehicle for their weekend adventures, long-distance trips, as well as to do city commute duties. If one such a customer walks in with the family into a showroom, and sees the Roxx and the ScorpioN side-by-side, AND the prices are too close to each other, the customer will be swayed towards the ScorpioN for all the above reasons. Why buy a car that is half a meter shorter, and lacks the practicality of having a third row, and has limited space inside, when one can get a much more polished and luxurious looking vehicle such as the ScorpioN, which can also match the Roxx 60-70% on 4x4 and Off-roading capability?

M&M will need to do a detailed Customer Persona Analysis, the attributes each persona values, relative perception of the four New Gen SUV brands they have in the market (Thar 3 Door, Thar Roxx, ScorpioN and XUV700) on each attribute, and look at affinity scores by persona for each of the four SUVs. This will help them target the right vehicle for the right persona. Also, they have to look at implications of this for the relative market share of each SUV brand that they are targeting for. They then have to place the additional pricing (Affordability/Value for Money) attribute that will be differently valued by each customer persona group. This will then help them to get to the right target pricing, that will in turn, help convert the most important target customer personas into Thar RoXX buyers, ideally moving only the desired personas over from the other three SUVs, while ideally targeting more conversions from other manufacturer brands. Behind the scenes, they have to look at revenue and profitability implications of the product placement, promotion and pricing strategies.

I did a rudimentary analysis with just 4 personas, of course, there would be many more key ones.

• Successful single, standing apart from the crowd
• Young family of nature-loving explorers
• Multi-gen family traveling far and wide
• Wealthy middle-aged hobby & lifestyle seeker

I considered just 7 attributes, there would be many more.

• Space & Practicality
• Gizmos and Tech
• Sense of Luxury
• Hard-Core Off-Roading Capability
• Size & Stance - Imposing, Rule the Road
• Power & Performance
• Uniqueness, Coolness of ownership

I then distributed a total of 10 points across the 7 attributes for each of the four customer personas. This matrix provides a view of what attributes each customer persona values. In reality, these scores have to be discovered through focus groups and interviews with prospective customers of both M&M and competitor brands/models.

I then distributed a total of 10 points for each of the four new Gen SUV offerings from Mahindra across the same 7 attributes. This is the second chart attached. This has ot be again based on customer perception, and not what the company deems technically correct. However, these scores can be influenced through the product promotion messages and TVCs.

The third chart provides an affinity rating, which is the product of the importance score of the attribute and the perceived relative strength of each SUV Brand on that attribute, summed up across all 7 attributes for each SUV brand. This is a rough high level measure of "affinity" that each customer persona is likely to have for each SUV brand. For example, this hypothetical chart shows the significant extent of overlap that exists between the four SUV brands. For instance:

• A "young family of nature-loving explorers" will be confused between the Thar 3-door the Thar Roxx. However, affordability is a concern for this persona, and a significant price differentiation will push them towards Thar 3-door, and absence of a major price difference will move them towards the Roxx.
• A successful single person warning to stand, apart from the crowd will again be confused between the Thar 3-door and the the Thar Roxx. However, this persona is one that is price inelastic, so will be ready to pay the price premium for the Roxx.
• A wealthy, middle hobby and lifestyle seeker will be confused between all 4 vehicles as they value too many things - sense of luxury, gizmos and gadgets, off-road capability, uniqueness etc. The line-up of SUVs is very confusing for them as each has something to offer. More targeted promotion is required in this case depending on the relative brand objectives.

I know this is a very unscientific and rudimentary analysis, but I hope Mahindra is some some analysis, as so far there doesn't seem to be much sharpness and differentiation, based on customer personas, in their product positioning, promotion or pricing strategies. even social media Ad placements seem banal and undifferentiated.

[Baristyro]

I don't know how many would agree, but I'm gonna say it. With a heavy heart, I feel 3 door Thar looks better than 5 Door.

[LionX]

Originally Posted by udainxs

Anyone eagerly waiting for the 15th, to see if they announce feature updates to the now 4 year old 3-door Thar?

The headlamps, off roading kit and engines would be a welcome addition to the 3-door version! Maybe the grill too

Yes, waiting for 3 door ‘facelift’. Hopefully LED headlights & Taillights, new steering, infotainment system, instrument cluster, Auto AC and the most important feature - Remote fuel lid opener will make it to the new 3 door Thar.

I guess Mahindra will replace the earth edition with a new top end variant.

[iskandariya]

Originally Posted by Baristyro

I don't know how many would agree, but I'm gonna say it. With a heavy heart, I feel 3 door Thar looks better than 5 Door.

True , what heavy heart factually it looks better. The roof design and c Pillar design messed up.

[sharmanova]

I'm damn sure, people will forget how "bad" the Thar Roxx looks after going through its features and price just like the XUV700 and Scorpio-N.

[varunswnt]

Originally Posted by LionX

Yes, waiting for 3 door ‘facelift’. Hopefully LED headlights & Taillights, new steering, infotainment system, instrument cluster, Auto AC and the most important feature - Remote fuel lid opener will make it to the new 3 door Thar.

I guess Mahindra will replace the earth edition with a new top end variant.

In addition to this, I wish Mahindra also gives proper plastic trim with cup holders, mobile holder on rear seats instead of ugly looking fabric trim. It is as if Mahindra forgot to do any interior work on rear seats and just covered all exposed metal with fabric. Plastic trim will aid in proper cleaning of car as well.

[SNOWY227]

The beefy roof and the grill is making it look ugly for me. So tried a little basic edit for my liking.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by LionX

... waiting for 3 door ‘facelift’. Hopefully LED ....will make it to the new 3 door Thar.

.

Don't wish for more features on the 3 door facelift.

The 3 door thankfully inherits the original Jeep DNA in its current form. Hope the 3 door exterior atleast stays that way in the facelift.

God forbid if the 3 door gets the sunroof, it will end up having a bulged dome roof like the Roxx.

[Bit]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I did a rudimentary analysis with just 4 personas, of course, there would be many more key ones.

If anyone from Mahindra lurks this forum (I would tag if I knew them), hire this guy ALREADY!!

[Geta]

Originally Posted by Turbojc

The way they’ve designed the rear half to maintain the appearance of the 3-door has me wondering - is there a chance that Mahindra will replace the 3-door Thar with the Roxx?

I wrote this a few pages back. I am reproducing it here.

The 3 door Thar with the 1.5L diesel will continue to sell as long as
i) The sub-4m rule exists
ii) Maruti Jimny continues to sell in the Indian market.

The price difference on road between MT variants of the 1.5L diesel Thar (RWD) and the 2.2L diesel Thar (AWD) is about Rs 3.6 lakhs on road.

If I was in the product development side of Mahindra, I would definitely toy with the idea of scrapping the 2.0 liter petrol and 2.2 liter engines from the 3 door Thar and instead put a 30-40hp motor with a 5-6kwh battery to power the front wheels (AWD on demand). This battery can either be charged by a plug in charging or a hybrid charging system, whichever is cost effective. The 1.5L diesel engine (115 bhp) will continue to power the rear wheels. This would actually be less expensive to own than the present 2.0 L petrol and 2.2L diesel Thars (thanks to the sub-4m tax rules), have lower running cost and have very good off-road ability.

Such a battery will need only about 60 minutes of charging per day, and the buyer will even have the flexibility of using the vehicle as a EV FWD for his daily commute with normal city speeds (40-50 kmph). (the eVerito was launched with a 40 hp motor. So a 40-45 hp motor can do some basic city commute with Thar. eVerito weighed 1250 Kg. Thar will be 500 kg heavier).

This way, the product differentiation of the 3 door Thar (ultimate off roader under Rs 18 lakhs on road for MT) and the 5 door Thar (ultimate off-roader between Rs 18-28 lakhs on road) is complete.

Based on the product evolution and achievement of milestones, they can also throw in a torque converter AT box, ADAS and a sunroof to the 3 door Thar to make the package more rounded and price it similarly to the existing 2.2L Diesel AT+ AWD Thar (around Rs 21 lakhs on road).

This way the buyers will get a equally capable, feature loaded 3 door Thar with 1.5L Diesel engine for the same on road price as the current 2.2L diesel Thar.

[Jupizire]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

To be fair to M&M, it would be a bit too much to expect. Any niggle free product from day1 is wishful thinking

Yes I totally agree. Even the relatively easier software that we develop almost always has niggles and bugs post go-live. But a car has moving parts and automating the whole transmission mechanism and software-hardware interaction would end up with a few niggles. But yes, they should not use it as an excuse and instead try to iron out the niggles.

Originally Posted by Baristyro

I don't know how many would agree, but I'm gonna say it. With a heavy heart, I feel 3 door Thar looks better than 5 Door.

I too felt the same. Especially the front design including bumper, grill, fascia look more sturdy and appear to have more heft in the 3-door Thar as compared to the 5-door.

[sgm]

Originally Posted by nTorq

Question for those waiting to book the Thar ROXX, what are you choosing - petrol or diesel? And, why?

Petrol for me as my use will be very minimal.

I'm closely following the updates. Waiting for the details. I have never used an SUV, so will take time to make up my mind.

[LionX]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

Don't wish for more features on the 3 door facelift.
The 3 door thankfully inherits the original Jeep DNA in its current form. Hope the 3 door exterior atleast stays that way in the facelift.

I don’t think any of these exterior features make much difference to the 3 door thar exterior or the Jeep DNA. In fact 90% of buyers upgrade the headlights right after the purchase. The rest of the interior features are part of comfort & convenience and buyers who don’t want those features can still opt for the lower variants. I think the existing variant's will stay as it is.

[diwakarmuthu]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I know this is a very unscientific and rudimentary analysis, but I hope Mahindra is some some analysis, as so far there doesn't seem to be much sharpness and differentiation, based on customer personas, in their product positioning, promotion or pricing strategies. even social media Ad placements seem banal and undifferentiated.

Nice analysis. I am thinking like this:

1. Thar ROXX pricing may be on par till the Z6 variant, after which ScorioN will start to differentiate with quality, comfort, tech and all
2. The usecases differ completely on personas:
a) I will take myself, 45+ loves adventure (read, basic offroading) and been waiting on the 5 door for the practicality, comfort and highway cruising capabilities. Would the 5D Thar work for me, maybe yes if I have enough boot space and rear seat comfort.
b) 30 something adventure seekers looking for go to anywhere vehicle, will potentially go with the 3D version.
c) A significant volume for ROXX may come from the 25-32 age bracket where a bit of show off and experimental purchases typically happen.

Mahindra is probably well aware that their Z4 through Z6 variants may take a hit when ROXX pricing is revealed. With the capacity constraints and wait times, this is probably one more strategy to stay connected.