Launched on August 14, 2021, Mahindra & Mahindra’s feature-laden and big-on-safety flagship SUV is three years old today and will hit the 200,000 sales milestone this month. Available with petrol and diesel engines and over 40 variants, it remains a top draw for executive SUV buyers.
14 Aug 2024 | 15966 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Launched on August 14, 2021, the XUV700, Mahindra & Mahindra’s flagship SUV is three years old today. What’s more, after 36 months in the market, it is close to notching a new domestic market milestone – 200,000-unit sales.
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Launched on August 14, 2021, the XUV700, Mahindra & Mahindra’s flagship SUV is three years old today. What’s more, after 36 months in the market, it is close to notching a new domestic market milestone – 200,000-unit sales.
Industry wholesales data reveals that from market launch three years ago through till end-July 2024, the Mahindra XUV700 has sold a total of 196,971 units. This comprises 26,261 units in the last eight months of FY2022, 66,473 units in FY2023, 79,398 units in FY2024 (up 19% YoY), and 24,839 units in the first four months of FY2025 (up 15% YoY, April-July 2023: 21,569 units)).
While the XUV700’s cumulative dispatches of 196,971 units were 3,029 units shy of the 200,000 milestone at the end of July, given that the XUV700 has averaged monthly dispatches of 6,848 units in June-July – or daily sales of 228 units – the XUV700 should hit the 200,000 milestone in domestic market sales any day now. It could even happen on Independence Day – August 15. Meanwhile, on the export front, over 4,500 XUV700s are estimated to have been exported till end-June 2024.
Surging demand for the popular executive midsize SUV has meant that the run to each 100,000 milestone has come up in a shorter span of time. While the 50,000 mark was crossed in 12 months, the first 100,000 units were dispatched in 21 months. While the 150,000 mark was achieved in 29 months, the 200,000 milestone, which will be surpassed this month (August 2024), will have taken 36 months, the last 100,000 units taking 15 months, six fewer than the 0-100,000 run.
The XUV700 has led M&M’s new sharpened focus to be a leading player in its core business of SUVs and the results are there to see. In August 2021, the company had a 15% UV market share. Three years later, M&M has a 19% UV market share in an expanded SUV market which is teeming with rivals wherein the XUV300, along with other in-demand Mahindras like the Scorpio twins, Bolero, Thar and XUV300/3X0) have mounted an assault.
It may be recollected that on June 27, 2024, the 200,000th XUV700 rolled out of the Mahindra plant. To celebrate the production milestone, on July 10, M&M announced a special pricing offer for the fully-loaded, range-topping XUV700 AX7 variant which has over 80 connected features – starting from Rs 19.49 lakh and going up to Rs 24.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) applicable for four months till November 10, 2024. This constitutes a big reduction between Rs 150,000 to Rs 220,000 and is designed to capture demand right until the festive season is over this year.
Two new colours – Burnt Sienna and Deep Forest – have also been introduced. Clearly, the move has paid off because the XUV700 has logged its best monthly sales in CY2024 in July – 7,769 units – which is the third-highest monthly stat for the XUV700 after October 2023 (9,287 units) and September 2023 (8,555 units).
Fuel-wise, demand for the diesel XUV700 remains very strong. As per company data, of the 24,839 units sold in the April-July 2024 period, diesel variants accounted for 18,431 units or 74% while petrol variants (6,408 units) comprised 26 percent.
OFF TO A STRONG START . . .
That the XUV700 had the makings of a winner was apparent when online bookings opened on October 7, 2021 and 25,000 units were snapped up in a scant 57 minutes, reflecting up to six months of production for the company.
In March 2022, the Mahindra XUV700 drove away with the prestigious Autocar India Car of the Year 2022 title, having impressed the jury with its modern and tech-driven cabin, best-in-class engine options and lengthy features list. The XUV700 was also declared the winner of the 'Value for Money Car of the Year' and 'Executive SUV of the Year' awards.
FY2024, when the XUV700 saw sales of 79,398 units, up 19% YoY, was its best fiscal to date. It ranked second among 11 executive midsize SUVs, behind the leader, Mahindra Scorpio (141,462 units) last fiscal.
With 24,839 in the first four months of FY2025, up 15% YoY (April-July 2023: 21,569 units), the XUV700’s sales are 27% of its FY2024 total.
XUV700 HELPS ACCELERATE SALES, M&M WELL SET FOR RECORD CALENDAR YEAR & FY2025
India’s SUV market, with a record 2.52 million units in FY2024 (up 26% YoY), has been registering strong double-digit growth for over two years now and Mahindra & Mahindra, which has eight SUVs (Bolero, Bolero Neo, Scorpio, Scorpio N, Scorpio Classic, Thar, XUV300, XUV400 and XUV700), is riding a wave of demand for most of its products.
With cumulative sales of 165,877 units between April-July 2024, up 22% YoY, M&M is well set to record its best-ever fiscal sales in FY2025. This total is already 36% of its record sales of 459,877 units in FY2024, up 28% YoY, with eight months left to go in the current fiscal year.
Furthermore, M&M is well set for its best-ever calendar year. In the first seven months of 2024, the SUV maker has dispatched 291,971 units, up 24% YoY (January-July 2023: 235,762 units), which constitutes 67% of CY2023’s record 433,172 units, with five months still to go in the year (see data table below). This means Mahindra could well be hitting the half-a-million mark for the first time in a calendar year in 2024.
FORTY-FOUR VARIANTS – 19 PETROL, 25 DIESEL
Mahindra sells the XUV700 in both 5- and 7-seater configurations, and with a number of powertrain options. There are all of 44 variants, comprising 19 petrol and 25 diesel, on offer. The 2-litre turbocharged mStallion engine powers the petrol XUV700, producing 200hp and a meaty 380Nm of torque. On the diesel front, the XUV700 is available with two different tunes for the 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine – 155hp with 360Nm of torque and 185hp with an impressive 420Nm of torque. The diesel automatic variant gets 450Nm of torque.
Paired with the engines are two transmission options: a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic. The base-spec MX trim is only available with a 6-speed manual whilst all other variants offer a choice of either a manual or automatic transmission. Mahindra also offers the XUV700 with all-wheel-drive option for the AX7 and AX7L trims.
The XUV700 has a very wide price range, starting from Rs 17.23 lakh for the base 2.0P MX (5-seater) manual petrol through to Rs 32.35 lakh (on-road) for the 2.2D AX7 AT AW L (7-seater). In this price range, it rivals both 5- and 7-seater SUVs such as the Tata Harrier and Safari, MG Hector Plus, and the Hyundai Alcazar.
TECH- AND FEATURE-LADEN, HIGHON-SAFETY EXECUTIVE SUV
The interior, with its clean and modern design, is among the many draws of the XUV700. The dashboard is dominated by a dual 10.25-inch screen layout – one for the infotainment and the other for the instrument cluster – housed in a single, massive panel. The infotainment system uses the AdrenoX interface with in-built Amazon Alexa virtual assistant for carrying out a variety of voice commands.
The XUV700 also gets a host of other features, including Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, wireless charger, panoramic sunroof, auto booster headlights, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather upholstery and dashboard inserts, an electronic parking brake, and a custom-built 12 speaker setup – including a subwoofer – with 3D surround sound that has been designed by Sony.
The XUV700, which aced the Global NCAP crash test with a five-star rating (under the previous GNCAP protocol) in November 2021, bristles with plenty of safety tech, particularly the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). It includes Forward Collision Warning (FCW) – which warns you of a possible collision and if you don’t react, it uses Autonomous Emergency Brakes (AEB) to stop the car. Other features include lane departure warning, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, smart pilot assist, traffic sign recognition and driver drowsiness detection. In addition, the XUV700 also comes with seven airbags, ABS with EBD, customisable voice alerts for speeding, and seatbelts with lap and retractor pre-tensioners for front seats.
Given the strong demand for its SUVs, particularly the XUV700, M&M has outlined plans to further increase output. On June 14, the company confirmed that it plans to further increase production capacity to 64,000 units per annum or 768,000 units per annum by end-FY2025 and 72,000 units a month / 864,000 units per annum by end-2026.
Along with ramped up volumes for its other models, XUV700 production has also increased in the first four months of FY2025. Cumulative April-July 2024 output is 23,168 units, up 5% (April-July 2023: 22,036 units) with the highest monthly rollout in April 2024 (6,353 units) in the fiscal to date.
In the fiscal year to date, in terms of Mahindra model-wise sales, the XUV700 (24,839 units) is ranked fourth. The Scorpio twins (53,068 units) lead the charge, followed by the XUV300/3XO (32,501 units) and the Bolero (31,858 units). With the festive season set to open soon, expect the XUV700 to achiev stronger traction in the market. Stay tuned in for more updates and analysis.
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