Mahindra delivers first BS6 Alturas to President of India: To replace Mercedes-Benz S600?

Mahindra has delivered the yet to be launched BS6 complaint Alturas to the President of India – Ramnath Kovind. The pictures show the new Alturas G4 BS6 with the President’s Estate in the background. It should be noted that the Alturas is not available in the showrooms at the moment since Mahindra is yet to dispatch the BS6 compliant variant of the SUV. However, it seems that the vehicle is ready to be launched as the production has clearly started.

The information was tweeted by Mr Parthasarathy V S, President – Mobility Services Sector, Mahindra Group. The black coloured SUV gets temporary registration number and the delivery was accepted by Joint Secretary of President’s Office. However, it does not seem like a bulletproof vehicle and will not replace the Mercedes-Benz S-Class S600 Pullman Guard, which is the official vehicle used by the President of India. It should be noted that the voices for using Indian cars by Indian leaders have become stronger after PM Modi’s call for “Atmanirbhar Bharat“. However, since the vehicles for the Prime Minister and President and other important people protected by the SPG are chosen by the authorities, the existing official vehicles are unlikely to be replaced anytime soon.

The Mahindra Alturas G4 takes on the likes of Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Endeavour but is priced very competitively in the market. It is a rebadged version of the SsangYong Rexton, which is on sale in the international markets. Due to fact that the SsangYong brand is not as popular as the Mahindra in India, a rebadged version of the vehicle was launched in the market back in 2018. The picture of the new BS6 compliant Rexton does not show any changes in the car though.

Also read: Mahindra discounts for June 2020

The SsangYong Rexton G4 comes powered by a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine that generates a maximum power of 178 Bhp and peak torque of 420 Nm. It only gets a 7-speed torque converter automatic transmission. Mahindra offers an FWD and an AWD set-up with the Alturas G4.

This vehicle is likely to be used by the President’s office in the future but will not be included in the official convoy. Mahindra has already announced the price of the new Alturas G4 BS6 in April but the deliveries are yet to start. The base version of the car is priced at Rs 28.69 lakhs while the top-end version is priced at Rs 31.72 lakhs, ex-showroom.

Also read: Toyota Urban Cruiser looks like a mini Fortuner: Bookings open from 21st August