- Engines will be developed for entire range of cars
- New smaller cars with smaller petrol engines also expected
- New petrol engines will be BS VI ready
Mahindra has always been a diesel-dominated brand in India thanks to their SUV driven portfolio. While they have continued being a SUV-only brand, the changing times have brought them around to develop petrol engines. Mahindra has already started offering petrol engines on the Scorpio as well as the XUV500 and is looking forward to expand its portfolio.
With the deregulation of petrol process almost half a decade before diesel got deregulated, the disparity in fuel prices had made India a diesel-hungry market. From the time when almost every three in five cars sold were diesels, the fuel price corrections over the past five years have driven the Indian-car buying mix back in the favour of petrol.
In the past year, petrol car sales have surged back to almost 60 per cent with the percentage being even higher at the budget end of the spectrum which is also the market that generates large volumes.Â
Also, the impending jump to BS VI norms has also fuelled the petrol-engine development program as diesel engines will find it increasingly difficult to meet the stringent emission norms that will be prescribed. While Mahindra is also developing BS VI diesel engines, the petrol engines will help them cater to a wider audience of buyers especially for products like the KUV100, the S101 compact SUV and the upcoming U321 MPV.
