Mahindra & Mahindra expects growing demand for vehicles combining authentic capability with technology, safety and everyday comfort to help its upcoming Scorpio Lifestyler carve out a market in India's relatively small lifestyle pickup segment.
The Mahindra Group on Friday unveiled its global pickup, which will be launched in India as the Mahindra Scorpio Lifestyler. First showcased as a concept in Cape Town, South Africa, in August 2023, the vehicle will be sold as the Mahindra Lifestyler across international markets.
The Scorpio Lifestyler is expected to make its Indian debut by April 2027, with prices starting below Rs 19.79 lakh, ex-showroom, the company said.
At the same time, Mahindra introduced a new series of its electric SUV, the BE 6-SPORTEQ. Deliveries are scheduled to begin from August 26. The company also unveiled two additional versions — the top-of-the-line Launch Edition and performance-focused Formula E Freedom Edition.
"We believe that the latent demand for uncompromised choice means there is an open space for us to grow," Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, told reporters.
Gollagunta said Mahindra was seeing a growing appetite among customers for vehicles that offered genuine capability without sacrificing technology, safety and comfort required for everyday use.
"We are investing in building awareness, strengthening our network and creating the right ownership experience for this category. We believe the Scorpio Lifestyler has the potential to redefine expectations and shape the future of the pickup segment in India," he said.
Designed at the Mahindra India Design Studio in Mumbai and developed at Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai, the Scorpio Lifestyler has been conceived as a global product.
Mahindra unveiled three distinctive expressions of the pickup — Valley Edition, Reef Edition and Trail Edition.
Internationally, the company is targeting the high-potential mid-size lifestyle pickup segment across Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, other African markets, the Middle East and Latin America.
Gollagunta said Mahindra would continue to strengthen its position in core right-hand-drive markets such as South Africa and Australia, where the company already has an established presence.
It has also performed well in some left-hand-drive and smaller markets, including Tunisia and Chile, where it has developed dealer networks, he said.
The UK, however, remains an important potential market. Gollagunta described it as the world's largest right-hand-drive SUV market after India but stressed that Mahindra would take a measured approach to entering it.
"We have talked about the UK; it is the largest RHD SUV market in the world after India. We don't have presence there. But we will be very deliberate in how we go there," he said.
"If we go there, we want to go there to win. If we are not convinced we can win, we will be careful about doing it," he added.
Gollagunta said India would remain Mahindra's core focus, given its position as the world's third-largest automobile market and its strong growth prospects.
On other overseas opportunities, he pointed to Indonesia as a market where Mahindra could expand without significantly stretching its existing operations.
"We are doing well right now with the commercial market, and we have realised this is a market we can play and do well in. We are looking at other markets where an existing product can easily go," he said.