Mahindra Thar production capacity increased ahead of Thar Roxx launch

Mahindra is all set to introduce the Thar Roxx on Independence Day. The rugged SUV will be an addition to Mahindra's growing SUV line-up, which has the Thar 3-door and the Scorpio range: Scorpio Classic and the Scorpio N. Dealers are also gearing up for the Thar Roxx, and a few have started accepting bookings unofficially. 

The Thar Roxx will be positioned slightly higher than the Thar 3-door, which means, a starting price of around Rs 13 lakh (ex-showroom) can be expected. The top-spec Thar Roxx will most likely hit the Rs 20 lakh mark, according to sources.

At this price point, Mahindra also has the Scorpio Classic (Rs 13.61 lakh to Rs 17.41 lakh), the Scorpio N (Rs 13.85 lakh to Rs 24.54 lakh), and the smaller Thar 3-door (Rs 11.34 lakh to Rs 17.60 lakh). The Thar 3-door, since its launch, has had a strong fan following and the Thar 5-door is expected to take it even further. The current order backlog for the Thar 3-door is around 42,000 units and is expected to reduce once the Thar Roxx goes on sale.

The Thar Roxx will serve as a more practical option to the already popular Thar 3-door, and a good number of existing and prospective Thar 3-door buyers are expected to upgrade to the Thar Roxx.

Additionally, several buyers looking to buy the Scorpio Classic and even the Scorpio N could opt for the Thar Roxx, thanks to its rugged looks and the SUV being a comparatively newer model.

At a recent event, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (Auto and Farm Sector), Mahindra & Mahindra, took note of the expected canniblisation amongst its SUV models. “We are factoring in some amount of cannibalisation which I would want to share in this forum, but that's something that we'll have to adjust to and respond to after we launch and we see the whole mix play out together. But we have factored in the fact that there will be cannibalisation in favour of the 5 door Roxx over the current 3-door, but we believe that the portfolio will grow up together.”

He further added that Mahindra has added additional capacity at the Thar production line.“We are creating an additional 3000 or 4000 units a month for the Thar 5-door over, above the total capacity of Thar, so like I said, some will come out of the current 3-door.” 

Mahindra currently manufactures the Thar at its Chakan plant and the upcoming Thar Roxx will also be built along the same assembly line.

As reported by us earlier, series production of the Thar Roxx commenced last month.  Mahindra has already upped the production capacity for the Thar 5-door citing high interest from prospective customers that has been conveyed by dealers.

The company had planned a monthly production run of around 2,500 units initially (around 30,000 units annually). which has now changed to more than double to almost 5,000 to 6,000 units a month. This could take annual production of the Thar 5-door alone, close to 70,000 units.