SAFER Mahindra Bolero just days away from launch

Mahindra Bolero has remained the best-selling vehicle for the brand for a long time now. The rugged MUV was earlier expected to be discontinued from the Indian market due to the upcoming safety and emission norms. However, according to ACI, Mahindra is currently working on a facelift version of the Bolero and will be launched in the Indian market soon. An ABS equipped Mahindra Bolero will be launched within the next few days. Other safety features such as speed alert, seat belt reminder and reverse parking sensors will follow in a few weeks.

The Bolero has been around for more than 19 years in the Indian market and no major has been launched since its inception in the market. Mahindra will not launch an all-new Bolero to meet the upcoming regulations but will work on the current model to make it future-proof. The Indian market will get new safety regulations from October 1, 2019. All the vehicles will have to meet the new offset front and side crash tests. Later, in April 2020, new pedestrian protection regulations will be implemented in the Indian market. Mahindra is expected to launch all the new safety features in a single facelifted version.

The Mahindra Bolero will also offer standard ABS, rear parking sensor, speed alert system and driver-side airbag to meet the new norms. The vehicle will also get a stronger body that will make it compliant with the upcoming rules. To meet the pedestrian crash test norms, Mahindra is likely to raise the bonnet to create enough space between the engine and the bonnet lid which will be able to act as a cushion during the pedestrian hit. Also, the grille and the front bumper are expected to be redesigned that will change the complete outlook of the vehicle. However, the masculine, straight design of the vehicle is not expected to change by much.

The Indian market will also get more stringent BS-VI norms from April 2020. This will force all the manufacturers to launch new engines, which are cleaner than the current BS-IV complaint engines in the market. As the Mahindra Bolero is a cost-effective vehicle, the same 2.5-litre m2Di engine will be altered to meet the BS-VI standards.

Mahindra is also working on an all-new 2.0-litre engine that will power the future Mahindra Scorpio, XUV 500 and Thar. However, it is not clear if the same engine will power the upcoming Bolero at a later stage in the Indian market. The Bolero is popular for its rugged engine and extremely well-built body and even with the updates, Mahindra will try to keep the DNA of the vehicle alive. The Bolero is extremely popular in the Tier-II and Tier-III cities that are extremely price-sensitive in nature.

Currently, Mahindra is also working on the next-generation Thar and the all-new Scorpio. Even the all-new XUV 500 will be launched in the Indian market soon. Mahindra is also developing electric vehicles and will launch the KUV 100 and XUV 300 in the electric avatar in the future.