Mahindra has once again defeated Jeep in sales game going on between their SUVs since long. The XUV500 saw greater sales in January than the Compass and the difference is more than double. To be precise, Mahindra sold 2659 units of the XUV500 in January while Jeep only sold 1267 units of the compass in the meantime. Both these SUVs have been at sales war ever since Jeep launched the Compass in India. Also, the sales of XUV500 were more than both Compass and Tata Hexa combined as only 309 units of the Hexa were sold in January.
Taking a look at sales figures of December 2018 reveals that the Compass performed marginally better than the XUV500 in the last month of previous year. 1150 units of the Compass were sold in December while Mahindra sold just 1141 units of the XUV500 in the same period. The January sales figure are a 133% jump over December figures for the latter, which is a big success for the company. This sales jump can be attributed to many factors like pricing, discounts, buyer preference among others.
One of the most basic element in favor of the Mahindra XUV500 is its pricing. Prices of the XUV500 start from 12.72 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base variant while the top variant retails at 19.48 (ex-showroom, Delhi) lakhs. The base variant of the Jeep Compass, on the other hand, costs Rs. 15.39 (ex-showroom, Delhi) lakhs while the top variant costs Rs. 22.90 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). This creates a difference of about Rs. 3.33 lakhs between the base model price of the two SUVs, which is a big amount for anyone.
Another factor due to which Mahindra scored better could be the discount offer it was giving on the XUV500. It is quite natural for people to look out for better deals and with Mahindra offering benefits upto Rs. 64,000 on the SUV, more sales were expected to follow. The Jeep Compass is aimed more towards the young and comes with better engines, well put together interiors apart from other features than the XUV500. The USP of the XUV500 lies in its sheer size and price point, which draws a lot of sensible buyers towards it.
The Mahindra XUV500 gets bot petrol and diesel powertrain options. The 2.2 litre turbocharged diesel engine produces 154 Bhp of power along with 360 Nm of torque. The 2.2 litre turbocharged petrol engine, on the other hand churns out 140 Bhp of power along with 320 Nm of torque. The petrol engine is sold exclusively with a 6 speed torque converter automatic gearbox while the diesel engine also comes with a 6 speed manual option apart from the automatic. The XUV500 comes with front wheel drive and all wheel drive layouts.
January had been good for the XUV500 but the same cannot be said for February. This is because of the launch of the Tata Harrier SUV which has disrupted the segment completely. Also, the coming months will see the launch of MG Hector SUV along with the KIA SP based SUV, which will increase the heat in the segment. Mahindra has planned to launch a new generation of the XUV500 next year but before that, it will be interesting to see who comes out as the king of the segment.