Mahindra Might Sell Current-Gen Scorpio Alongside 2022 Scorpio

As of late Mahindra SUVs have become one of the hottest commodities to own in 2021. While the company models such as the Thar and the XUV700 are enjoying their massive success in the nation. Mahindra is already getting ready to launch its newest SUV in the line-up. The next-generation Scorpio could be launched by M&M sometime in mid-2022. However, the current generation Scorpio has also been spotted testing with minor camouflage, and this has led to speculation Mahindra would not be pulling the plug on the current-gen Scorpio and it will go on sale alongside the 2022 model.

The launch of the upcoming new-gen Scorpio has been long delayed, and the current semiconductor shortage raised by the pandemic can be attributed to it. This new model will be the fourth generation of the emblematic Scorpio which has been on sale since 2002. The last update that this iconic model received was in 2014 when the new vehicle replaced the previous one entirely. Although this time around the two generations of the same moniker will coexist on the same showroom floor at the same time.

Despite being on sale for nearly two decades the current Mahindra Scorpio is still going strong with a monthly average sale of 3100 units, and the demand for this rugged SUV doesn’t seem to drop off. It is one of the biggest profit-generating models from the Mahindra lineup. However, the company still wanted to replace it with the next-generation model but the Global NCAP crash rating of the new car is proving to be a hurdle.

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As the outgoing model is equipped with the rear jump (side-facing) seats, Mahindra cannot afford to add these seats to the next-gen model as it will be bound to score a low safety rating in the Global NCAP crash testing, which Mahindra does not want for its 2022 model. Mahindra has already ditched the rear side-facing seats in the Thar just to help it score a little more in the crash testing.

So because of this issue, Mahindra will not be discontinuing the outgoing Scorpio and will continue to offer it. Recently another test mule of current-gen SUV was spotted with the lower half of the body covered in camo suggesting that a minor facelift could be on its way. In addition to the above-mentioned reason, Mahindra will also keep the side-facing seat model in the lineup because it has a particularly huge demand from the smaller towns along with political and security segments of the nation.

It is a well-known fact that the Scorpio is one of the first choices for the service as an escort vehicle for politicians and VIPs of the country. And because these side-facing seats provide easy manoeuvrability to security personnel they can easily and very quickly enter and exit the vehicle. This however wouldn’t be possible if Mahindra decided to get rid of the rear side-facing seats. This is why Mahindra has decided to not kill the outgoing Scorpio and launch the 2022 model alongside it.

The next generation Scorpio will be powered by the same 2.2L diesel engine that currently powers the XUV700 and the Thar. Gearbox options for this 2.2L engine will be a 6-speed MT and a 6-speed AT along with the options of rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive configurations.

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