All-electric XUV400 will set the stage for Mahindra’s EV journey, a precursor to the company’s born-electric range
Till the first of Mahindra’s born-electric SUVs debuts a little over two years from now, it’s XUV400 that will attempt to establish a foothold in India’s nascent EV segment. It’s apparent that Tata Motors read the market better, as Nexon EV launched in January 2020 has turned out to be a bestseller. It is currently the top selling electric car in the country in terms of sales volumes.
Mahindra may be late in the EV game, but it can still emerge as a formidable challenger by offering something truly unique that’s practical, useful and not so pricey. Confidence is pretty high with team Mahindra with back-to-back successes such as Thar, XUV700 and Scorpio-N. The company will be looking to achieve something similar with all-electric XUV400.
Mahindra XUV400 Electric Blue Colour
All-electric XUV400 is based on a tweaked version of XUV300 platform. Core design philosophy could be based on a multimodal approach, wherein some elements are taken from XUV300 whereas others could be borrowed from upcoming born-electric Mahindra SUVs such as XUV.e8, XUV.e9, BE.05, BE.07 and BE.09.
For example, the headlamps and LED DRLs look similar to the ones used with XUV300. On the other hand, design of the body panels seems more in line with the theme used with Mahindra’s born-electric SUVs. Some key highlights include Mahindra’s new twin peaks logo in bronze finish that’s placed right at the centre of the front grille.
It is flanked by X lettering, also with a bronze finish. This is something similar to Nexon EV that has 3-point elements on the front grille. XUV400 has a side mounted charging port, which again is similar to Nexon EV. In comparison, other electric cars like MG ZS EV and Hyundai Kona have their charging port at front.
XUV400 range, specs
Just like XUV300 that has multiple segment-first features, XUV400 will offer a comprehensive range of creature comforts. As XUV400 will be more spacious at around 4.2 meters in length, it can easily accommodate a larger touchscreen infotainment system. It could get an 8-inch or larger screen, as compared to Nexon EV Max that has a 7-inch screen. XUV400 could also get ADAS with top-spec variants or as an optional feature. As of now, none of the EVs in this segment offer ADAS.
As XUV400 will primarily challenge Nexon EV Max, its range could be around 350-400 km. For reference, Nexon EV Max has ARAI certified range of 437 km on a full charge. Another thing that XUV400 can possibly do better is reduce charging time. Tata Motors has already worked on this with Nexon EV Max that can achieve 0% to 80% charge in just around 56 minutes. For this, users need to use a 50 kW DC fast charger.
It is expected that Mahindra XUV400 all-electric SUV will be offered in price range of Rs 15-20 lakh. Coupled with its segment-first features, XUV400 can engage in a tough fight with Nexon EV Max. The latter is available at a starting price of Rs 18.34 lakh. More detail will be revealed at the debut on 8th Sep, 7-30 PM.
