Almost the entire auto industry is looking towards a price hike in India. The rise in the price of vehicles is due to the rise in input costs, freight charges, and the Rupee’s weakening wherever applicable. Manufacturers are passing on this increase in the cost of raw materials to customers in controlled price hikes.
Now Mahindra is also hiking the prices of the much-popular Thar SUV in India. Reportedly, the 2020 Mahindra Thar comes with a price hike of ~INR 32,000 and goes all the way up to ~INR 92,000. This is around 2-7 per cent of the original cost. Despite the price hike, demand for the Thar SUV remains unchallenged.
But due to the supply chain constraints, the manufacturer has stacked up the order books. Also, deliveries of the SUV have backed up and the waiting period on the Thar is almost 12 months on specific variants. The delays are also part of the global shortage of semiconductor chips. Mahindra has announced that the brand will upscale its manufacturing operations to cope with the rise in demand for the Thar SUV.
Powering the Mahindra Thar is a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine and a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol motor. Both the engine options come with BS6 emission compliance. The oil motor produces 130 Bhp of power and 300 Nm of torque. On the other hand, the turbo-petrol engine makes 150 Bhp and 320 Nm of torque. Both engines come with a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed torque converter type automatic option. The Thar also comes with a 4×4 drivetrain as standard, along with a low-ratio transfer case.
Speculations are that Mahindra is developing a 1.5-litre three-cylinder diesel engine. This leads us to believe that Mahindra could be planning to introduce a new lower-spec variant on the Thar. It is also speculated that the lower-spec variant of the Thar will come with only a rear-wheel drivetrain.
Also Read: 5-door Mahindra Thar launch not before 2023