India’s top class crossover SUV, the Mahindra XUV500 set sensation in the industry almost soon as it launched. The super cool crossover with rugged off-road abilities is set to roll out once again, as Mahindra & Mahindra announce the reopening of bookings across India, starting 8 June 2012. After the launch, in September 2011, the XUV500 went on sales only in 19 major cities across India. After seeing the success of its flagship crossover in major cities, Mahindra is planning full-fledge production with sales beginning in all cities across India.
Due to the immense success, Mahindra may have to organize lucky draw system to allocate the crossover to potential customers. To come up to the demands of the Mahindra XUV500, Mahindra has planned to ramp up the production of the crossover to 4,000 units a month. In addition, Chakan facility in Maharashtra will further ramp the production of the flagship crossover to 5,000 units per month, in upcoming months. The Indian auto giant is also eyeing high export numbers, by beginning with markets like Australia and Chile towards 2012 end.
On this occasion, Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “It has been an incredible journey so far for the XUV500 and we are pleased to take the product national. We have been inundated with requests for re-opening of bookings not just from existing cities but also from cities where the XUV500 was not available. Now that we have ramped-up our production capacity significantly, we are confident that we will be able to take care of the growing all-India demand for the XUV500.”
With the success of the Mahindra XUV500, new brands are seeing an opportunity to enter into this segment. This segment has seen a rise of 15 percent in past five years. As the Mahindra crossover is built for Indian roads with Indian style and aggressive price, it is certainly a match to European models. In the market, the XUV500 will lock horns with the Tata Aria, upcoming Renault Duster and Ford Ecosport.