In October 2019, Ford and Mahindra entered into a partnership under which both the brand’s will develop new SUVs for India as well as the emerging markets. Earlier reports suggested that the underpinnings from the Mahindra-developed next-generation XUV500 will be used to make a new Ford SUV which will be launched in the second half of 2021 following the Mahindra XUV500.
While the 2021 XUV500 has been spied on many occasions giving us a glimpse of what to expect from the upcoming vehicle, the Ford SUV which has been codenamed CX757 has been only seen partially in spy pictures and more importantly the interiors of the CX757 have not been spied, yet, at least in the Indian market. But it is important to note that the Ford Edge SUV that has been updated for the Chinese market and the CX757 Ford SUV in India are not the same.
But, pictures of the Ford Edge which was updated for the Chinese market have surfaced the internet, which appears to be in the final production avatar leading us to believe that Mahindra could have gotten inspiration for the interiors of the XUV500 from the Ford counterpart, or vice a versa. The updated Ford Edge in China features a twin-screen dashboard which uncannily resembles the one seen in interior spy pictures of the Mahindra XUV500 in India. Moreover, climate control knobs on the central fascia are also similar, leading us to believe that it could be the fruit from the joint venture.
While both vehicles are designed by Pininfarina, an Italian design house owned by Mahindra and even though both the SUVs might share the engine, suspension and frame, both the Ford and Mahindra SUVs wear a different top hat, evident from the earlier spy pictures. This leads us to the conclusion that while both the CX757 and the XUV500 are different on the outside, both could come with similar comfort and convenience features in terms of the interiors and their equipment.