In a bid to make its mark in the hatchback segment, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is working on the hatchback version of its Verito sedan. The leading Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) maker of India will use the same platform for developing the upcoming car as it will bring down the development costs. It is expected that the car maker will unveil the model in the country by September 2012.
Arun Malhotra, Senior Vice President of Sales and Customer Care, Mahindra announced that this hatchback model is on the cards. He stated, “We have plans for Verito. We will launch a hatchback version of the car four months from now.” However, he also pointed out "We are known to be commercial vehicles and SUV makers. We do not have the expertise or the technology for sub-compact vehicles."
When launched, the upcoming Verito hatchback will be placed in the small car segment that has tremendous competition, though the profit margin is quite high as well. Speculation is also rife that the car maker will bring out the compact sedan version of the Verito in coming times instead of the hatchback. Moreover, the details, configuration and features of the latter are not known yet, while a test mule of the former has already been spotted in the country.
As a hatchback, the upcoming model will have lesser boot space than its siblings and will be shorter than 4 metre in length, which will make it eligible for the tax benefits provided by the government. It is anticipated that the K9K, 1461 cc turbo diesel engine of Renault will be used to power this vehicle. Since Mahindra has always focussed on diesel vehicles, a petrol variant of the car may not be launched.
The Verito arrived in India as the Mahindra-Renault Logan but remained largely unsuccessful. It was given the moniker Verito after Mahindra bought all the rights to the model and re-launched it; it sells in decent numbers in the domestic market now.
