Mahindra Marazzo Electric Not On The Cards
The Marazzo will be powered by conventional petrol and diesel engines
Mahindra has confirmed that the Marazzo MPV, codenamed U321, will launch by September 2018. It is built on a new platform that, the carmaker claims, imparts the Marazzo the largest footprint of any Mahindra vehicle to date. A large footprint obviously means more area to pack batteries, right? However, Mahindra has denied any plans to offer an electric version of the MPV.
When asked about the Mahindra Marazzo’s powertrain options, the managing director of Mahindra, Dr. Pawan Goenka, reportedly said, “It is certainly designed to take in more powertrains, smaller and bigger than what we are launching it with. We have not designed it for electric and we are not sure if the MPV is of the right size for an electric powertrain.”
Although Dr. Goenka has denied the possibility of an electric version of the upcoming MPV, we think the Marazzo’s platform, which will spawn more products in the future, has been developed keeping electrification in mind. It will be quite surprising if it is not, especially since Mahindra is already working on consolidating its platforms for the future. Going forward, the carmaker will have a three-platform strategy and the Marazzo’s platform will be one of two on which the carmaker will base its future monocoque vehicles. The other platform that will be used for future monocoque models will be the one that will underpin Mahindra’s upcoming sub-4 metre SUV codenamed the S201. The final platform will be a ladder frame that will underpin the next-gen Scorpio. Know more about the next-gen Scorpio and XUV5OO here.
Currently, Mahindra is the only carmaker in the country to offer electric vehicles in the passenger car market. It’s portfolio includes two EVs - the e2o Plus hatchback and the eVerito sedan. The carmaker has also announced that it will offer a third EV in 2019. This could very well be an electric hatchback based on the KUV 100, which was first showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo. The carmaker would ideally want to extend its electric portfolio and it might not develop any new platforms without keeping electrification in mind.
As for the Marazzo, Mahindra has stated that the MPV will only get a diesel engine at launch. However, the carmaker is also developing a petrol engine for it. Considering that the Marazzo is targeted at the private segment, we expect it to be offered with both a manual as well as an automatic transmission. However, it remains to be seen if both transmission options will be available from launch. Apart from this, it’s also unclear what type of diesel engine will be offered with the Marazzo - a new 1.5-litre unit what will attract less taxes or a diesel engine over 2.0-litre in capacity. Although the latter will give the MPV more grunt, it will also make it more expensive.
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