Mahindra XUV300 outsells Tata Nexon: Becomes 2nd best selling compact SUV

The Mahindra XUV300 is now India’s second best selling sub-4 meter compact SUV, displacing the Tata Nexon and second only to the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. In March, the XUV300 moved past the Ford EcoSport in terms of sales and in April, it has pushed the Tata Nexon to 3rd place. In April 2019, Mahindra sold 4,200 units of the XUV300 while Tata Motors managed to sell 3,976 units of the Nexon.

The Tata Nexon – a well priced SUV and India’s only 5 star rated vehicle for safety in the affordable segments – is doing decently well despite the XUV300 coming in. The Maruti Vitara Brezza is continuing its dream run despite an increase in competition. The SUV managed to sell a whopping 11,785 units in April 2019. In 4th place was the Ford EcoSport with 3,200 units sold. Soon, a new sub-4 meter compact SUV will be launched in India in the form of the Hyundai Venue. Hyundai estimates to sell about 8,000-10,000 units of that SUV each month.

The XUV300 is Mahindra’s latest SUV, and was launched in February 2019. Mahindra has loaded up the SUV with features and opted to go for relatively bhigher starting price of Rs. 7.9 lakhs for the base petrol model. The SUV is available in a total of 8 variants spread across two engine options. The petrol engine is a 1.2 liter-3 cylinder turbocharged unit with segment leading torque of 200 Nm while peak power is rated at 110 Bhp. The diesel engine is a turbocharged, 1.5 liter-4 cylinder unit with 115 Bhp of peak power and 300 Nm of peak torque, both segment leading figures. The XUV300 gets a 6 speed manual gearbox driving the front wheels on both engine options. An AMT unit is in the works, and will be launched with both engines by the end of this year.

As for features, the XUV300 is easily the most equipped SUVs in its segment. The SUV is particularly big on safety. Features on offer include 7 airbags including a driver’s knee airbag, ABS+EBD, tyre pressure monitoring system, automatic dimming wing mirror, heated wing mirrors, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, a reverse parking camera, hill hold, electronic stability program, anti rollover protection, seat belt reminders for all five seats, speed alerts and ISOFIX child seat mounting points. That the XUV300 is based on the Ssangyong Tivoli – an SUV that sells in Europe – has helped Mahindra offer best-in-class safety features, many of which will take at least a couple of years to be offered on competitors’ SUVs.

As for creature comforts and stylistic bit, the Mahindra XUV300 leads the segment again. Prominent features on offer include an electric sunroof, leather-clad seats, touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual zone automatic climate control, automatic headlamps, rain sensing wipers, full folding rear seat with a 60:40 split, multiple steering feel settings, LED headlamps, daytime running LEDs and 17 inch alloy wheels. The strong feature set could be one reason why customers are opting for the XUV300 despite the higher price tag. Customers seem to be seeing value in the pricing of the SUV. The coming months will tell us where the sales of the XUV300 settle. For now, they’re on line to close in on 5,000 monthly units – Mahindra’s target for this SUV.