EXCLUSIVE! Mahindra Marazzo, KUV 100 to be discontinued

The Mahindra Marazzo MPV will be phased out, as will the KUV100 NXT micro-SUV, a company source tells us. This is part of a bigger move by Mahindra to jettison its slow-performing models and focus on more lucrative areas of the market, namely several popular SUV segments.

• 711 units of Marazzo and 21 units of KUV100 sold in 2021 
• Marazzo 1.5 turbo petrol variant plans scrapped
• KUV100 to live on as low-voltage eKUV urban EV

Mahindra Marazzo: between a rock and a hard place

The Mahindra Marazzo has proven itself as a robust and capable MPV, with a refined new 1.5-litre diesel engine, good equipment, a comfortable ride and ample space, but that unfortunately hasn’t translated to strong sales numbers. Since January 2021, the MPV has sold just 711 units, which is miles behind the Toyota Innova Crysta (19,300 units) and the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga (37,286 units) in the same period (see table, below). 

And these two hugely popular rivals are precisely the reason for the Marazzo’s underwhelming performance, flanking it on either side of its price range in a pincer attack, as they have for many MPVs that have come and gone. In fact, Mahindra’s previous MPV offering, the big and tough Xylo, met a similar fate. 

The result is that the Mahindra Marazzo will not receive any more major updates, and this includes the long-planned introduction of a powerful 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine from the brand’s new mStallion range that was showcased at Auto Expo 2020. This state-of-the-art new engine will instead make its debut on the all-new Mahindra XUV500 (S301), which will be launched in 2024. 

Additionally, as Mahindra’s JV with Ford was also suddenly axed at the start of this year, the latter’s MPV, which was to be based on the Marazzo, is also effectively no more. 

January-April 2021 sales
	Marazzo	KUV100	Ertiga	Innova Crysta	Ignis	Freestyle
January 2021	175	11	9565	3939	3854	955
February 2021	120	4	9774	6018	3340	1285
March 2021	255	1	9303	5743	4359	689
April 2021	161	5	8644	3600	4522	635
TOTAL	711	21	37286	19300	16075	3564

SOURCE

Mahindra KUV100 to live on as an electric city car

Along with the Marazzo and the Alturas G4, the brand’s other slow-selling model is the KUV100 NXT. Positioned as a micro-SUV, the KUV currently has no direct competitor – the Tata HBX has yet to be launched – but instead rivals mid-range hatchbacks and cross-hatchbacks. 

However, its sales (see table, above) for 2021 have mostly been in single digits, month on month, with a total of just 21 KUVs finding new owners this year. Compare that to rivals like the Ford Freestyle (3,564 units) and the Maruti Ignis (16,075 units), neither of which is considered a hugely successful model in that price range, and the decision to axe it seems like a no-brainer. 

The KUV100 was perhaps a reach too far for Mahindra, taking it out of its comfort zone of SUVs and attempting to recreate that magic in the hugely cut-throat hatchback segment, where customers are far more risk averse and tend to stick with tried-and-tested brands. The result was a rough-around-the-edges product that was neither a hatchback nor an SUV, rather than the best of both worlds. 

The KUV100 will, however, live on for a while longer as the eKUV, a prototype of which we have already driven. This low-voltage EV is intended for use as a city runabout and effectively replaces the e2o and e2o Plus. Though a price was revealed at Auto Expo 2020, the eKUV is expected to be formally launched in early 2022, with a claimed real-world range of 147km, a 15.9kWh battery and roughly 55hp of power. 

A little while back, Mahindra had registered a trademark for the name XUV100, but company insiders have confirmed that it was done merely to secure the name and the company has no plans to revisit this sub-compact micro-SUV segment again any time soon.

Also see:

EXCLUSIVE! Mahindra XUV500 to return as new Creta rival in early 2024

EXCLUSIVE! Mahindra greenlights XUV900 SUV coupe

Mahindra Thar real world fuel economy tested, explained