At its recent press meet, Mahindra had stated that it will not be launching any new products this year
Mahindra SUVs continue to witness strong demand, especially Scorpio N, XUV700 and Thar. Waiting period for these SUVs is up to 17 months in some cases. On the other hand, SUVs like Bolero and Bolero Neo have zero waiting period at most locations. XUV400 is also readily available.
While having a large order book is a good thing from a business perspective, it leads to a frustrating experience for customers. Waiting for months to get their favourite car requires a lot of patience. Due to these reasons, Mahindra has now chosen to focus more on completing pending orders. No new launches will take place in 2023.
Scorpio N, XUV700, Thar order book, waiting period
As of now, Scorpio N and Scorpio Classic collectively have the highest number of pending orders of more than 1.17 lakh units. While Scorpio Classic customers have to wait around 30 weeks (~ 7 months) to get delivery, those buying Scorpio N can have to wait for up to 75 weeks (~ 17 months). Demand for Scorpio N and Scorpio Classic far exceeds the current production of around 14,000 units per month. New bookings for Scorpio continue to pour in every month.
When Scorpio N was not launched, it was XUV700 that had the longest waiting period. Last year, there was a time when XUV700 waiting period had reached as high as 20 to 24 months. Even now, waiting period for XUV700 is more than a year, at around 13 months. Total pending orders for XUV700 is 78,000 units. As of now, Mahindra is producing approximately 8,000 units of XUV700 every month.
Thar has witnessed a shift in its demand pattern, with the launch of the 2WD variant earlier this year in January. With an offer price of Rs 9.99 lakh, Thar 2WD had emerged as an irresistible deal. Even with prices increased now, bookings continue to pour in for Thar 2WD variant.
Waiting period for Thar 2WD variants is around 12 months. In comparison, waiting period for Thar 4WD variants has come down to around 1 to 2 months at most locations. Overall pending orders for Thar (2WD and 4WD) is 58,000 units. Mahindra is manufacturing around 14,000 units of Thar every month.
XUV300, XUV400, Bolero waiting period
Taken together, XUV300 and XUV400 have pending orders of 29,000 units. XUV300 has waiting period of around one month, whereas XUV400 is readily available at some locations. Combined production of XUV300 and XUV400 is around 10,000 units per month. In case of Bolero and Bolero Neo, customers can expect to get immediate delivery at most locations. Total pending orders for Bolero is 8,200 units. Production capacity is 10,000 units per month.
To reduce waiting period, Mahindra will be increasing production capacity by 10,000 units over the next six months. This can benefit cars like XUV700, which are manufactured at the company’s facility in Chakan, Maharashtra. However, Mahindra has stated that shortage of semiconductor chips continues to impact production. In Q4, FY 2022-23, the company had a production shortfall of around 12,000 units due to supply side constraints.
Throughout this year, Mahindra will be focusing on optimizing capacity utilization and clearing pending orders. No new launches are planned for this year. Launch of products like Thar 5-door and XUV300 facelift has been shifted to next year.
