XUV500-based Ford SUV & EcoSport Turbopetrol still on track despite JV cancellation

Ford and Mahindra announced the end of the discussion for their joint venture today after the “longstop” date of 31st December 2020 has passed. During a conference today, Mahindra’s top honchos gave us a few details including the status of the upcoming W605 (Ford’s SUV based on the next-generation Mahindra XUV500) and the supply of petrol engines to Ford for the use in EcoSport. Here are the details.

Dr Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra and Mahindra said that the Ford and Mahindra were discussing the new products way before the joint venture announcement in October 2019. However, due to the fallout of the JV talks, both the companies will now look at these strategies before moving ahead. Ford and Mahindra will plan the future products irrespective of the JV discussion coming to an end. Now Dr Goenka has also said that the products will be launched only if feasible and there are products that are in almost completion stage. However, a few products can be axed while others may get launched in due time. Mahindra also said that they will look for other ways to collaborate with Ford in the future but furnishing any details on the same.

Ford – Mahindra products status

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According to Dr Pawan Goenka, two Ford products are almost nearing completion stage. The Ford C-SUV, which gets the codename W605 is based on the Mahindra W601 or the next-generation XUV500. According to the details, the W605 is almost ready and is only 6 to 9 months behind the W601 in terms of development. The product already has a significant amount of money invested in it. It should be noted that Pininfarina, a world-renowned design firm owned by Mahindra is working on the design of the all-new SUV. So if the manufacturers make the decision of continuing the W605 development, it is likely to launch in 2021.

The second product that is almost complete is the turbocharged petrol powered next-generation EcoSport. Mahindra says that even this product is in its advanced stage of completion. If the development remains on track, the product will be ready for the market in less one year. Even this product has a significant amount of investment involved.

Mahindra also planned to electrify the Ford Aspire platform and launch an all-new electric sedan. That plan is now on hold. While mobility solutions from the manufacturers are also on hold. The Connectivity Solutions is already working in a few Ford and Mahindra vehicles as per Dr Goenka.

Mahindra’s future plans

Mahindra has announced that they will go back to their core targets – which is the SUVs. Mahindra has said that they will focus on the SUVs and not the softroaders in the future. Also, the manufacturer is working on brand-new electric SUVs that will be launched in the coming months. Later this year, two all-new vehicles based on new platforms will be launched too. These are likely to be the all-new XUV500 and the all-new Scorpio.

The press conference also gave an update on the Thar. According to the manufacturer, more than 50% of the Thar bookings done are for the automatic variants. In the month of December, more than 6,500 bookings were made for the vehicle.

Ford is yet to comment on the plans for future products and reveal more details on the development.

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