Mahindra to ramp up production capacities at Nasik plant to meet demand
The new 2020 Mahindra Thar, launched on 2nd October, has met with outstanding demand in the country. Immediately post launch and announcement of prices, the 4×4 bagged over 9,000 bookings while the balance orders followed in quick succession to a total of 20,000 orders as on date.
More Demand For Hard Top Variant
Mahindra Thar hard top variants in petrol and diesel, automatic and manual have been noting stronger demand. To keep up with this demand, the company will be increasing production at the Nasik plant from January 2021 to around 3,000 units per month from a current 2,000 units. Waiting period of 2020 Thar is now up to 7 months.
The first Thar was delivered to Aakash Minda who won the online auction. Despite huge demand, only 500 buyers who have booked the new Thar will receive their 4x4s during the upcoming Diwali weekend, 7th and 8th Nov (today and tomorrow). Mahindra dispatched about 1,200 units of new Thar to dealers in Oct 2020. This includes dealer display / test drive units as well as customer delivery units. Images here are credit to Shoji.
First batch of customers will receive the new Thar today and tomorrow. Mahindra says, “The deliveries are based on the sequence of bookings received for the variants that are available.” Along with the confirmed bookings, the new Thar has also received over 65,000 enquiries and over 8 lakh website visits causing the company to be overwhelmed with this kind of attention that the new Thar has received.
2020 Mahindra Thar is offered in AX series and LX series. The AX series receives three variants of AX STD, AX and AX OPT while the LX series is in a single variant. Of these variants, the AX STD and AX variants are soft top models while the AX OPT and LX variant receive either hard top of convertible top options. Prices range from Rs.9.80 lakhs for the petrol 6 seater Soft Top to Rs.13.75 lakhs for the diesel 4 Seater Hard Top.
The second generation Mahindra Thar has a length of 3985mm, width of 1855mm, 1,920mm of height and a wheelbase of 2450mm. Ground clearance stands at 219mm. It gets 6 exterior colour options of Red Rage, Mystic Copper, Galaxy Grey, Napoli Black, Rocky Beige and Aquamarine and sets itself apart with a host of onboard features. It gets round headlamps, front fog lamps and LED units at the rear.
The AX variant receives 16 inch steel wheels fitted with 245/75 section tyres while the other variants sit on 18 inch alloy wheels with 255/65 R18 tyres. The Thar AX is designed for off road enthusiasts while the Thar LX is a lifestyle product.
New Thar is drizzle resistant while interiors sport a large 7 inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, TFT MID, a multi function steering wheel and electrically operated HVAC controls. It also receives roof mounted speakers and cruise control.
2020 Mahindra Thar Engine Specs
The new Thar is offered in two engine options. The 2.2 liter diesel engine makes 130 hp power and 320 Nm torque while the 2.0 liter mStallion petrol engine generates 150 hp power and 320 Nm torque. The engines get mated to 6 speed manual and 6 speed automatic transmission options and 4WD with a low range gearbox is standard across the range.
Where competition is concerned, the 2020 Mahindra Thar faces up only with the 2020 Force Gurkha as on date. It could also meet a new competitor once the new Maruti Suzuki Jimny is launched in the country.