M&M Says 13-14,000 Units Of XUV 3XO Ready For Dispatch By End Of May

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. can step up production of the XUV 3XO at will to meet the outsized demand its latest offering is already witnessing.

“We anticipated the demand. We have actually pre-produced more than 10,000 units (of the XUV 3XO),” Nalinikanth Gollagunta, chief executive officer at M&M’s automotive division, told NDTV Profit on the sidelines of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings presentation on Thursday. “By the end of this month, we should have 13,000-14,000 units ready for dispatch to dealerships. That takes care of some of the backlog.”

“We have capacity fungibility of another 1,500 units per month, over and above the planned production of 9,000 units per month. So, we are confident of meeting the demand without too much of a waiting period.” 

The Mahindra XUV 3XO, a thorough refresh of the XUV 3OO, garnered 50,000 bookings within the first hour of the booking window being open, the company said in a statement on May 15. Deliveries will commence on May 26.

Naturally, expectations are high from M&M's smallest SUV on sale today.

The XUV 3XO can make M&M the number one player in the compact SUV segment, from number six now, according to Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director and CEO (auto and farm) at M&M. Granted, M&M has its best-selling Thar and Bolero in the sub-four metre space, but they do not cater to the buyer in the Rs 10-15 lakh price bracket.

M&M refused to comment on how the 3XO would contribute to its top line.

“It’s hard to talk about the revenue top line, but what we have done is increase the capacity overall,” Gollagunta said. “Our goal is to double our volumes in this (sub-compact SUV) segment in the next one year.”

The XUV 3XO, which competes with the likes of Tata Nexon and the Maruti Suzuki Brezza, is packed to the gills with features—several segment firsts. The SUV gets four disc brakes and six airbags as standard. A panoramic sunroof and 17-inch wheels are offered in mid-spec variants, while ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) features in higher-spec variants. M&M has also done well to offer a petrol automatic under Rs 10 lakh.

The rivals, in a way, have responded to the competition at hand.

Tata Motors Ltd. has introduced new entry-level variants of its best-selling Nexon SUV to reduce the starting price to Rs 8 lakh, ex-showroom India. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. has launched a mid-level variant of the Fronx crossover with six airbags. In comparison, the XUV 3OO—which gets six airbags as standard—is priced at Rs 7.49-15.49 lakh.

“The variants we picked out were well-thought through,” Gollagunta said. “We are seeing demand largely in the mid- to high-end variants—very much in line with what we had expected.” 

Gollagunta refused to be drawn into a conversation over competition. “We have words for our customers, not our rivals.”