Why Did India Reject These Mahindra Cars? » MotorOctane

Mahindra is now one of the most prominent automakers in India, but its path to the top wasn’t easy. Mahindra faced extreme adversity, and many of its ambitious projects got rejected by the Indian public. Let’s take a look at some of these cars. 
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5. Voyager

This is arguably one of the most unknown Mahindra cars of all time. The Voyager was Mahindra’s first and maybe the only attempt at a van. It was built in partnership with Mitsubishi Motors. This 9-seater van was powered by a Peugeot-supplied 2.5-litre diesel engine that produced 70 bhp. 

On paper, the Voyage seemed like the perfect car in the 2000s. The Omni was a huge hit, and the Voyager was bigger, more spacious and more comfortable. In fact, it was the first Mahindra car to use Independent Front Suspension. To further add on to the tales of the Voyager, Stephen Hawking used it as his transportation vehicle (alas, a modified one) during his visit to India in 2000. So why did the Voyager fail?

It was a luxury MUV at the time, and the Indian public simply wasn’t interested in it. Furthermore, the Voyager was priced at around Rs 5-6 lakh, which wasn’t a small sum in 1998. Mahindra sold other SUVs like the Bolero, and people would rather buy a more rugged-looking car for a similar price. The sales figures were bleak, and Mahindra discontinued it in just 3 years of its production. Finding a Voyager on Indian roads today is rarer than finding a supercar. 

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4. Verito Vibe

Modern hatchbacks have the excuse for low sales that the SUV market has seen a huge demand. But the same can’t be said for the Verito Vibe. In fact, the Verito Vibe came into existence purely because hatchbacks were the way to go back then. With the Vibe, Mahindra converted the Verito sedan into a hatchback. Even Toyota tried a similar move of converting a sedan into a hatchback with the Etios Liva and received a better response. But the Vibe was an utter failure. It’s not like the Verito was a huge success in the first place. 

The Vibe came with a sole 1.5-litre diesel engine. This could be one of the reasons why it failed, since its competitors from Hyundai and Maruti were offering fuel-efficient petrol variants. Moreover, the Vibe had no USP for customers to buy for Rs 7-8 lakhs. Mahindra discontinued the Verito Vibe in 2019 due to poor sales. 

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3. Quanto / Nuvo Sport

The Quanto seems like a great product on paper. 7-seater and a sub-4m car, which means it was priced attractively. It kick-started the compact SUV trend. So why did it fail? 

It was a shortened version of the then-popular Xylo. The looks weren’t its strongest point and it was a half-decent first attempt from Mahindra. Nonetheless, the idea of the Quanto seemed solid, and the sales were moderate for its first year of production. But then came the Ford Ecosport, which completely ate up its market. Mahindra tried again with the Nuvo Sport, but it had fallen too far behind the competition, so no one actually bought it. 

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2. Mahindra Alturas G4

The Alturas G4 is arguably one of the best Mahindra products of all time. It was a premium SUV and a huge step up over its other SUVs, like the Scorpio, Bolero, and XUV500. It looked handsome, and the interior was packed with high-quality materials and features, including an 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, a panoramic sunroof, and a 360-degree parking camera. 

The issue was that it got the same 2.2 diesel from the XUV500. The AWD option was not enough to gloss over that fact. Its competitors, such as the Fortuner and the Endeavour, offered more powerful engines. The rivals may have cost more, but they were established names, and people opted against the Alturas. 

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1. Marazzo

The Marazzo is the only vehicle on this list still on sale. But we can still call the car a bust. This MPV faced struggles very early in its life. Mahindra priced it at around Rs 12-15 lakh (on-road, Mumbai) when launched. This meant that it was more expensive than the popular Maruti Ertiga. Moreover, if you paid a few lakhs more, you could get the Innova Crysta, which started from almost Rs 15-16 lakh (on-road, Mumbai). 

Mahindra tried many things to make this car a success. The Marazzo is one of the few cars to offer a ladder-frame chassis with FWD, for increased durability and toughness. Moreover, it also has independent suspension on all 4 wheels. 

This MPV was a great product with a practical cabin (available in 7- and 8-seater configurations). The Marazzo never got a grip in the competitive Indian market. In the current market, the Kia Carens and Maruti Ertiga offer much better value for money. 

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