India’s javelin heroes Neeraj Chopra and Sumit Antil get customised Mahindra XUV700s

Mahindra & Mahindra has commenced deliveries of its recently launched flagship, the XUV700. And two of India’s sporting heroes and ace javelin throwers – 2020 Tokyo Olympics champion Neeraj Chopra and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics champion Sumit Antil – are among the first in India to have received the SUV. And customised for the champions of champions.

On August 7 this year, the 23-year-old Chopra delivered a super throw of 87.58 metres in the finals to outperform rivals from all over the world and win the gold medal. He also became the first Indian athlete to win a track and field medal in the Olympics in 100 years. 

It may be recollected that responding to a follower on Twitter who asked him to gift Chopra the then upcoming XUV700, Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra said, “Yes indeed, it will be my personal privilege and honour to gift our Golden Athlete an XUV700.” He even tagged Mahindra Executive Director Rajesh Jejurikar and Mahindra CEO Automotive Division Veejay Nakra and asked them to “keep one ready for him please.”

Today on receiving his XUV700, Chopra tweeted: “Thank you@anandmahindraji for the new set of wheels with some very special customisation! I'm looking forward to taking the car out for a spin very soon.” Chopra's XUV700 is emblazoned with his record-breaking throw and a javelin-throwing graphic .

Earlier today, Mahindra & Mahindra also handed over the keys of the Gold Edition XUV700 to Sumit Antil, the gold medal winner of the F64 Men's javelin throw. Antil took top honours with his throw of 68.55 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics – Sumit's record is embossed as a badge on the fender and tailgate of the XUV700.

Designed by Pratap Bose, EVP and Chief Design Officer, M&M, this custom-made XUV700 in midnight black sports tasteful gold accents inside and out. Antil's noteworthy record is also embroidered on all the six headrests and the front dashboard.

The SUV’s grille is customised and accentuated with gold plating on the vertical slats. Other highlights include the new Mahindra SUV logo in satin gold plating and gold accents on the seats and IP panel. All seats and the IP panel have been stitched with fine gold thread as accents.

SUV-vival of the fittest
First revealed on August 14, the Mahindra XUV700 begins Mahindra’s offensive to reclaim leadership in India’s ultra- competitive SUV market. When bookings opened on October 7, the surge in consumer interest and demand for the product was massive. In barely two days, the company secured bookings for 50,000 XUV700s worth Rs 9,500 crore in ex-showroom value.

While October 7’s 25,000 bookings came up and closed in a scant 57 minutes or 438 units a minute, October 8’s 25,000 bookings took about two hours or 208 units a minute. At a time when the passenger vehicle market and India Auto Inc is looking for positive market news, this robust round of demand for the Mahindra flagship SUV is good news for overall industry.

While deliveries of the XUV700 petrol version have now commenced, buyers of the diesel sibling will get their vehicles mid-November onwards. M&M has announced that plans to deliver 14,000 units of the SUV by mid-January 2022. However, it has also stated that deliveries could be delayed, depending on the availability of semiconductors.

In September, M&M sold a total of 1,370 XUV700s comprising 1,074 petrol and 296 diesel variants.

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