Popular Nexon Rival On Ventilator – What Went Wrong? » MotorOctane

The Nexon has been one of Tata’s most successful products in India. The SUV has been a best-seller for the past three months, by a substantial margin when it comes to its direct rivals. One of Nexon’s rivals seems to be on the ventilator now. So, which SUV is this and why is this the case? Let’s find out!
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Mahindra SUV On Ventilator? – Mahindra XUV400 Sales

Well, this is a tough one, but it is the Mahindra XUV400. Based on the XUV300, the XUV400 is Mahindra’s first electric SUV. Launched in January 2023, the XUV400 rivalled the Nexon EV.  When launched, the eSUV received a warm welcome with its first 5,000 bookings. Until late 2023, the sales stabilised, averaging 600-700 units. However, these sales figures were nowhere near Mahindra’s enthusiastic 20,000 units target in a single year. By early 2024, Mahindra witnessed a decline in sales figures. 

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What Went Wrong? 

The XUV400’s direct rival, the Nexon EV, had been around for longer. Essentially, the Nexon EV was one of the first few EVs in India, which intrigued the interest of buyers towards electric cars. The Nexon EV was first launched in 2020, giving it 3 years to capitalise and capture the EV segment. On the contrary, the XUV400 was quite late to the party and now had to compete with the updated and facelifted Nexon EV. The Tata’s eSUV had a lot of features, tech and looked quite an attractive offering. 

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On the other hand, the XUV400 looked pretty much the same as the XUV300, which had become outdated in terms of design and features. Plus, the Nexon EV had already stood the test of time and proved to be a great option. So, inevitably, the Nexon EV was chosen often over the XUV400. 

Mahindra’s Failed Attempts To Boost XUV400 Sales!

To boost sales, Mahindra started to offer big discounts. But these discounts did not really help Mahindra’s cause. By the end of 2024, Mahindra showcased its two born EVs: the BE 6 and the XEV 9e. And in January 2025, Mahindra launched both the BEVs, which created massive buzz in the market. Both BE 6 and XEV 9e were absolutely new in terms of design, features, tech and performance. Both BEVs were spacious, practical and offered ample range. This proves that Mahindra’s new INGLO platform for ground-up EVs worked out well for the brand.

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Among this chaos, the sales of the XUV400 kept declining, and Mahindra continued to offer massive discounts to boost its sales. Over the past few months, Mahindra has been offering massive discounts on the electric SUV – up to Rs 4 Lakh. Even in December 2025, Mahindra is offering a Rs 3.25 Lakh discount on the XUV400. But it never worked for Mahindra. Their own BE 6 and XEV 9e achieved great feats, while the XUV400 remained the ignored EV. 

In August 2025, Mahindra showcased its new platform for future cars called the NU_IQ, along with 4 concept cars. Out of these 4 concept cars, the Vision X received good appreciation and looks to be an interesting product. So, Mahindra could revive the XUV400 on the NU_IQ platform, calling it the XEV 4e or the XUV 4XO. Mahindra might just be able to conquer the competitive sub-4-meter segment and finally have a worthy competitor to the Nexon and Nexon EV.

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