Mahindra Nuvosport launch on April 4

Emboldened by the market response to its TUV300 and KUV100 compact SUV crossovers, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is all set to launch its newest compact SUV – the Nuvosport.

The automaker has released the first pictures of the new Nuvosport compact SUV which is slated for an India launch on April 4. The Nuvosport is essentially a heavily updated Quanto which was the company's first compact SUV. The Quanto, which was launched in September 2012, has till now, after three-and-a-half years, sold only 26,394 units, including barely 516 in the April 2015-February 2016 period of the ongoing fiscal year 2015-16.

The two official pictures reveal that the Nuvosport has restyled headlamps, grille and bumpers and new-design alloy wheels for the higher variants. Inside, the Nuvosport will come with a new beige-themed dashboard and steering wheel, and a touch-screen audio system with Bluetooth and voice command recognition. The seats are also expected to be all new, with better cushioning and lumbar support. The Nuvosport, however, retains most of the side and rear profile design from the Quanto.

M&M has also announced that the Nuvosport gets an all-new platform. It is expected that there will be updates seen under the hood as well in terms of a new diesel engine. 

The Nuvosport will come in six variants and the top two trims will get an optional AMT.

The Nuvosport will be Mahindra’s third compact SUV crossover offering in the market after the TUV300 and the KUV100. It will compete with the likes of the Ford EcoSport, Maruti Vitara Brezza and Mahindra TUV300 and KUV100. While the TUV300, which was launched in September 2015, has sold a total of 21,583 units till February 2016, the KUV100 has sold 9,053 units since its launch in December 2015.

Commenting on the Nuvosport, Pravin Shah, president and Chief Executive, Automotive, M&M, said, “We identified a need gap in the market and designed the NuvoSport to meet the needs of those customers who lead an active lifestyle and are looking for  a sporty and fun-to-drive SUV. With the addition of the NuvoSport, we will further consolidate our leadership in the SUV segment and effectively address the entire gamut of customer segments across price points ranging all the way from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.”

According to M&M, the NuvoSport has been designed and developed in-house by the Mahindra design team, while the research and development of the vehicle was done at Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai.