Mahindra will not repeat the Quanto mistake

Mahindra will be launching three compact SUVs this year, two of which will be brand new and the third will be a facelift version of the Quanto. However, Mahindra will not repeat the mistakes it had done on the Quanto. In a meeting with the analysts, Mahindra’s top management stated, “They will be taking no shortcuts this time. The company did save on investments in the Quanto project but the customers are demanding.” Mahindra is making two new compact SUVs (S101 and the U301) and a facelift of the Quanto too is due. The Quanto will be renamed too. There have been rumours of renaming it is as Canto, but we reckon it could get an alphanumeric name like the XUV500. Mahindra could call the S101 as CUV100/XUV100, Quanto as CUV300/XUV300 and the U301 as TUV300. But this is still a very early stage to decide names.

“Pricing isn’t the soul deciding factor,” mentioned Dr Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, in the meet with the analysts. So, it is clear that Mahindra has invested a lot more money and is working towards customer satisfaction in the new range of compact utility vehicles. These UVs will have 1.2-litre petrol, 1.2-litre and 1.5-litre diesel engines shared between them. The U301 and the Quanto (U215) will get seven-seats and similar space too. The U215 will be appealing to urban consumers while the U301 will be for rural buyers. The S101 will be for first-time car buyers and will be targeting premium hatchbacks.