Mahindra To Focus On Domestic Demand Before Exporting The New Thar

Mahindra will be focusing on addressing the long waiting period of the new Thar in India, before exporting it to other markets. Answering a question on about the export plans for the new Thar in the latest episode of FreeWheeling with SVP, Pawan Goenka, the MD and CEO of Mahindra and Mahindra said, "We have to first take care of the waiting list in India. That has to be our priority." The new-gen Mahindra Thar has become a runaway success for the home-grown SUV manufacturer in India. In just the first 20 days of its launch, Mahindra had already received over 20,000 bookings for the SUV, and now Goenka has confirmed that the Thar is booked till May 2021.

Also Read: Mahindra Thar Bookings Cross 20,000 Mark; Up To 7 Months Waiting Period​

The new Mahindra Thar is currently commands a waiting period of up to 7 months, depending on the variants, and the company wants to bring that down before starting exports. Elaborating on the situation, Goenka said, "So, we are not going to rush into exporting it, once we get the waiting list down to a reasonable level, of let's say a couple of months or something, then only we'll seriously look at exporting. We might send a small batch or something like that, but the serious look will happen only after we have taken care of the waiting list in India."

Also Read: 2020 Mahindra Thar Launched In India

The Mahindra Thar gets front-facing seats at the rear, with 3-point seat-belts as standard. The rear seats also get ISOFIX child seat mounts.

The new-gen Mahindra Thar is built on a new ladder-on-frame chassis and it is designed to be an SUV that can be your daily driver. For the first time, the SUV comes with forward-facing front seats and an option for a hard-top roof, along with a tonne of other features like a touchscreen infotainments system, automatic climate control and better NVH levels. And that has attracted both the purist off-roader and the urban SUV buyers alike. The new Thar has already bagged a 4-star safety rating from the Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) for both adult and child occupant protection, which is a bit deal for an open-top off-road SUV.

Also Read: Exclusive: Mahindra Thar Scores 4 Stars In Global NCAP Crash Test

The new Thar has already bagged a 4-star safety rating from the Global NCAP, for both adult and child occupant protection

Also Read: Mahindra To Deliver 1000 Thar SUVs During Diwali

The 4-star safety rating also means that the new Thar, now matches the safety standard of even some of the European countries. So when as if Mahinda plans to export the Thar to these new markets, which are predominantly Left-Hand Drive (LHD), Goenka said, "Right now, Thar is only For Right-Hand Drive market, we have not decided whether we'll do an LHD version of it or not. Again, it will all depend on how we see the volumes growing, how we see the potential in the other markets. So, that sort of thought is going on right now, and we will decide. It's not a yes, it's not a no."

Also Read: Mahindra Thar Review

Recently Mahindra stopped selling the entry-level AX STD (Standard) and AX variants of the new Thar and right now it's only available in the AX(O) and LX variants, but based on the engine, transmission and roof options, Mahindra still offers about 12 different trims of the Thar. So currently the 4x4 SUV is priced in India from Rs. 11.90 lakh, going up to Rs. 13.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).