Mahindra rolls out Thar Roxx at Rs 12.99 lakh, to commence deliveries in early October

Mahindra senior management officials with the 5-door Thar

Nearly 14 years after launching the 3-door Thar, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has launched the 5-door version of the Lifestyle Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) at a starting price of Rs 12.99 lakh. Named Thar Roxx, the off-roader SUV will be launched in both petrol and diesel versions and will be taking on Force Gurkha and the Maruti Suzuki Jimny.

While the homegrown carmaker will facilitate test drives of the Mahindra Thar Roxx from September 14 onwards, the bookings will start from October 3. The company will commence the deliveries of this model during Dussehra (October 12). The five-door Thar will also be rolled off the same manufacturing plant in Nashik, Maharashtra.

The Thar Roxx will be equipped with either a 2.0-litre mStallion turbopetrol engine that generates 160 bhp of maximum power and 330 Nm of torque, or a 2.0-litre mHawk diesel engine that puts out 150 bhp and 330 Nm. Both engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.

M&M stated that it aims to make Thar brand the leader in the midsize SUV over the next three to five years. It may also introduce new products under the brand over the next few years to cater to different sets of customers.

“Around 45 percent of the SUV market is contributed by models that are priced above Rs 12.5 lakh and we have a marketshare of 27 percent. So what is the opportunity that gets presented to us to make the Thar portfolio the number one brand over the next three to five years in the more than Rs 12.5 lakh price point," Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Executive Director and CEO for auto and farm director Rajesh Jejurikar told reporters on the sidelines of launching the model.

He claimed that M&M is already have two brands and its Scorpio portfolio (consisting of Scorpio-N and Classic) in the number one brand in the Rs 12.5 lakh+ market. He also stated that XUV7OO as the number 5 brand in its category.

The Thar Roxx will be will be available in select trims such as MX1, MX3, MX5, AX3, AX5, and AX7. While the base MX1 petrol MT is priced at Rs 12.99 lakh, MX3 AT will be available at Rs 14.99 lakh. For diesel variants, the MXI is priced at Rs 13.99 lakh, MX3 MT at Rs 15.99 lakh, AX3 L MT and MX5 MT at Rs 16.99 lakh. The AX5 L AT and AX7 MT are priced at Rs 18.99 lakh (all prices ex-showroom). The prices of the 4X4 variants will be announced later.

According to Jejurikar, Thar Roxx has not been designed as a niche product but as a mainstream SUV, keeping in mind the needs and requirements of the buyers in the segment. “Even with the three-door version, in its current form, has become a large volume player. We didn’t want to stop at that and we think that we can make this brand bigger,” added Jejurikar.

M&M has invested around Rs 1,100 crore in the development, including creating additional production capacity for the five door Thar, which was designed at the Mahindra India Design Studio (MIDS) in Mumbai. Jejurikar also clarified that the company has no immediate plans to export this model.

The Mumbai-based automaker had recently announced that it is building additional capacity for producing upto 4,000 units per month of the Thar Roxx.

"We are creating an additional 3,000-4,000 capacity per month for the five-door Thar over and above the total capacity that we have planned," Jejurikar said on August 1.  During that time, he had also revealed that the company is having an order backlog of 40,000 units of the three-door Thar.