Eyeing Volumes, Mahindra to do a Nano with SUVs

WORKING WITH SSANGYONG ON SUB-. 4 LAKH SUV

KETAN THAKKAR MUMBAI

If you’re looking for fuel efficiency, your best bet is a small car. If adventure and a muscular look and feel are what you prefer to trip out on, a sports utility vehicle (SUV) would be your choice of wheels. But what if you’re seeking both mileage and the pleasures of off-road driving — at a jawdropping price?
Say hello to the mini-SUV, a firstof-its kind vehicle in India — and perhaps the world — that utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is developing with Ssangyong, the South Korean SUV maker it acquired last year. Codenamed the S101, the ‘Nano’ SUV — as it is being dubbed by some workers on M&M’s shop floors — will be powered by 1- 1.2 litre petrol engines and 1.5-litre diesel engines. Work on the project began a year ago, say people working on it; and the vehicles are expected to roll out of M&M’s plant in Chakan on the outskirts of Pune — where the newlylaunched XUV500 is being produced — in 26-28 months. Estimated price range: between . 3 lakh and . 4 lakh.
The price tag is noteworthy because most mini-SUVs — typically under 4 metres in length — are premium products. The Jeep Wrangler, Nissan Juke and Skoda Yeti are some of the best-selling mini and compact SUVs globally, yet their pricing is clearly premium — the Yeti, for instance, sells in India at over . 14 lakh.
If M&M can pull off the S101 at the stated price, it would make it the only mini-SUV in that price range anywhere in the world. To persist with the Nano analogy, it would do for SUVs what Tata Motors has done for cars by opening up an altogether new ultra lowcost category.
The S101 project is also the first joint development effort by the M&M-Ssangyong combine. For the South Korean maker of sports utility vehicles, the low-cost segment is alien, and hence a welcome addition to its range.
There’s another reason both M&M and Ssangyong are keen on this segment: In India, passenger vehicles under 4 metres fitted with 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines attract a lower excise duty of 10% (for larger cars it is 22%). In South Korea, the vehicle will have a turbo-charged sub-1 litre engine as this segment does not attract a levy except for a 10% value-added tax.
Small is Big
•M&M and Ssangyong are jointly developing a mini-SUV that will be priced between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 4 lakh

•If they succeed, this will be the lowest-priced SUV in the world

•The SUV will be under 4 metres in length, giving both M&M and Ssangyong excise duty relief

•In India, the vehicle will be powered by 1.2 litre petrol and 1.5 litre diesel engines, and by a sub-1 litre engine in S Korea

•Mini-SUV is expected to roll out of M&M’s Chakan unit in 26-28 months Team of Over 100 Engineers at Work
When contacted, an M&M spokesperson said that as a matter of policy the company does not comment on future plans. Says Rajan Wadhera, chief executive, technology, product development & sourcing, M&M: “Work on a new platform should be concluded very soon and it will be on the compact side.” He refused to divulge specific details. He added that the project is at the styling and customer research stage and technocommercial viability has to be established. People close to the development say the platform will be monocoque (or unibody) and the plan is to have different body shells for M&M and Ssangyong vehicles.
M&M has set up a team of over 100 engineers who are working on various functions of styling, body design, trims, vehicle integration, suspensions, engine development and cooling systems. The company is relying on value engineering and software solutions to keep development costs low.
“M&M is banking on high volumes of at least 1,00,000-1,50,000 units per annum and the use of lighter and cost-effective material such as plastic in fuel tank, fender, and the frontend module to keep costs low. The vehicle may be somewhat like a mini-Gypsy (from the Maruti stable),” says a vendor close to the development. M&M is investing . 3,000-4,000 crore over the next 3-5 years on research & development in SUVs; the S101 is the first major project in which Ssangyong’s R&D expertise will come handy.
VG Ramakrishnan, senior director, automotive & transportation at Frost & Sullivan, feels if M&M wants to be a big volumes player in SUVs, it needs to have a presence in the compact/mini segment.
“As price points get higher, the volume potential starts shrinking; so M&M will have to push the envelope at the lower price points,” says Ramakrishnan.