Mahindra is known for its utility vehicles and has almost no experience in the small car segment. The only car that Mahindra has in its range is the Verito sedan, which is actually the rebadged Renault Logan brought from its then partner. The sedan is been doing steady numbers for Mahindra, bought mostly by fleet owners for the capable diesel engine and spacious interiors.
The Verito is the cheapest mass production vehicle in the Mahindra range – the Thar and the REVAi are actually cheaper, but are not mass market models. If the company is looking for higher share in the Indian market, then company has to enter the segment below the Verito, where the volumes are lot higher. The Utility car maker is hence mulling to launch a smaller car based on the Verito in the Indian market.
If we go by the books in India – small car is any passenger vehicle with length of less than four meters and engine displacement of up to 1.2-litre petrol or 1.5-litre diesel. This classification does help with taxation and in-turn pricing. Mahindra may easily use this regulation to their benefit and chop-off a part of the Verito’s boot – exactly like the Tata Indigo CS, new Swift Dzire or even the upcoming compact SUV, the Ford EcoSport.
The Verito Compact Sedan (CS) has been spotted testing few times and is expected to be launched by the end of this year. We don’t think Mahindra will be looking to launch a hatchback anytime soon, as it will require heavy modification to chassis and also lot more time and cost for development.
