It was at Auto Expo 2020 when Mahindra first showcased the eXUV300 in its concept avatar and it looked like a production ready prototype back then. In fact, quite a few of us were expecting Mahindra to be quick off the mark within the EV space and a speedy launch of the Mahindra XUV400 EV since the electric SUV was in the pipeline long before we saw the concept. It would have given the Indian brand the first mover advantage, which Tata Motors managed to cash in, ultimately. But Mahindra had different plans. The company wanted to come up with a 'no compromise' EV offering incredible range and ‘best-in-segment’ specifications and that took some time.
Also Read: Review: Mahindra XUV400 Electric Compact SUV
Speaking to Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-In-Chief, carandbike, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra explained, "It's important to get the product right and it's more important than getting the timing right. And we wanted to make sure that we had a product which was the best on multiple counts. Best acceleration, best range, very good use of HMI here, best space. So it is the best on multiple counts. We didn't want to go for a compromised offer. We don't want to play in fleets, we want to get to a segment of evolved customers who don't want to buy electric just because it's the cheapest form from point A to point B, of course they are welcome to come in too, but there is so much more to electric. There is some much fun in driving an electric and you know driving this product is going to give you all of that, while giving you cost efficiency and while being good for the climate."
The Mahindra XUV400 EV exceeds four metres in length and is an arch-rival to the MG ZS EV in terms of specifications. It offers a claimed drive range of 456 km from a 39.4 kWh battery pack which is almost at par with the MG ZS EV's 461 km claimed range form a bigger 50.3 kWh battery pack. The Mahindra XUV400 EV belts out 148 bhp and 310 Nm of peak torque, in-turn doing the 0-100 kmph sprint in 8.3 seconds. This makes it faster than any other mass market EV offered in India and slightly better than the ZS EV that does the same sprint in 8.5 seconds.
Even though Mahindra is a bit late to the EV party with its first electric SUV, it aims to up the ante with the Mahindra XUV400. That said, Tata Motors did manage to capture first mover advantage with the Tata Nexon EV. The model set a benchmark in the EV space and very strategically, Tata Motors bettered its range and performance later introducing the Tata Nexon EV Max which is positioned above the standard model.
Yes! The Mahindra XUV400 EV has plenty of tricks up its sleeve, but the bigger challenge that it will face is from Tata Motors, because there is no doubting the fact that it has leadership in the passenger EV space and it will take a lot of hard work from Mahindra, once the XUV400 EV is launched in January 2023.
