Mahindra will soon launch Marazzo AMT option in India – Homologation process completed
Mahindra Marazzo, the 7 and 8 seater MPV is a globally engineered utility vehicle. First launched in Sep 2018, production of Marazzo started in August 2018. Mahindra has invested Rs.1,400 crores into the design and development of the Marazzo. It owes its design to the Mahindra teams in USA, India and Italy. It is produced from the Mahindra plant in Nashik, Maharashtra.
In the initial months, sales have been higher than expectations. In April 2019, Mahindra Marazzo sales crossed the 25,000 mark. This was a remarkable feat, considering that the MPV is only offered with a single engine and single transmission option. But gradually, sales started to decline. In the last 3 months, sales have been averaging around the 200 units mark.
Losing to rivals
Priced in the Rs 11-14 lakh range, Marazzo has not managed to make any major impact in the MPV segment – as far as sales are concerned. It has no direct rival, but some variants can be considered as rivals to certain variants of the likes of Maruti Ertiga and XL6 due to price overlap.
In comparison, sales of Ertiga + XL6 are over 10k units every month. This despite the fact that the Maruti MPVs are only offered with a petrol engine option. Even the More expensive Toyota Innova Crysta has been averaging sales of over 3,500 a month.
Marazzo pricing as well as its size, makes it an offering which lies somewhere in between the Ertiga / XL6 and Innova buyers. Despite of that, it seems to have failed to get the required attention from MPV buyers in India.
Mahindra Marazzo AMT Specs
To deliver a boost to the sales of Marazzo, Mahindra will soon launch an AMT version of the same. Homologation details have been shared online by the Delhi Transport Department. As per this, AMT option will be on offer with all the existing variants – M2, M4+ and M6+. Both 7 seater as well as 8 seater option will be on offer.
Mahindra Marazzo is currently offered in 3 variants powered by a 1.5 liter, 4 cylinder diesel engine. The engine offers 122 PS power and 300 Nm torque mated to a 6 speed manual gearbox sending power to front wheels. This is the same engine which will be on offer with the AMT option. Marazzo AMT will come in 2 drive modes – Power and ECO. In Power mode engine output will be at 122 PS while in ECO mode power output will reduce to 100 PS.
The shark inspired Marazzo Manual claims to deliver ARAI certified fuel efficiency to the tune of 17.3 kmpl. AMT variant of Marazzo is expected to deliver similar mileage. Marazzo has scored a 4-star safety rating in the Global NCAP crash test, making it the first made-in-India MPV to do so. Mahindra Marazzo AMT price is expected to be about Rs 20-50k more than the respective manual variants.
Petrol Marazzo
Marazzo is currently powered by a 1.5 liter diesel engine with manual transmission but with petrol engines gaining in popularity, the MPV will receive a good boost in sales. In the past it was noted that there was more demand for diesel engines, especially for larger vehicles. However, now with the narrowing price gap between petrol and diesel fuel price, this trend has changed.
