Mahindra To Further Ramp Up Production Of The New Thar
Mahindra have announced that they will further ramp up the production of the Thar to keep up with demand for the SUV. This will be the second time that Mahindra will be ramping up production of the Thar. Earlier last week, re reported to you that the Thar was nearing the 39,000 bookings mark. In fact, in January 2021 alone, Mahindra received over 6,000 bookings for the new Thar. Ever since its launch in October 2020, the new-gen Thar has grown to be hugely popular in the Indian market.
The Thar has been suffering from a very high waiting period for quite some time now. The waiting period extends to a maximum of over nine months in certain cities. In most cities however, the waiting period extends up to a maximum of six months. The hard-top variants of the Thar are in greater demand than the soft-top variants. Mahindra had also previously revealed that automatic variants of the Thar are in great demand with half of all customers opting for the automatic variants.
Also Read : Second-Gen Mahindra Thar Modified Very Tastefully For A Wrangler-Like Look
It was on November 4, 2020, when Mahindra announced the first ramp up in production of the Thar by 50%. Previously, the company was manufacturing 2,000 units of the Thar per month. That figure has now gone up to 3,000 units per month from January 2021. It should help reduce the waiting period by a couple of months, although not significantly. With this second increase in production, you can expect the waiting periods to go down by a decent margin.
The main reason for the Thar seeing such a long waiting period is because of inadequate supply of critical production material like steel and semiconductors. In fact, this has been affecting the entire automobile industry in India and worldwide. The shortage is a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Wholly manufactured Mahindra Thar's are currently sitting at dealerships but do not have an infotainment system due to the lack of semi-conductors. This is leading to a stay on the deliveries till the displays arrive and are fitted at the dealerships.
Mahindra offers two engine options under the hood of the Thar - a 2.0-litre mStallion TGDI petrol engine that makes 150 bhp and 300Nm of torque (320Nm with the automatic gearbox) and a 2.2 litre mHawk diesel unit that makes 130 bhp and 300 Nm of peak torque. Transmission options include either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic gearbox for both the engines. Four-wheel drive along with a low-range transfer case is standard for all the variants. After the discontinuation of the entry-level variants and a recent price hike, prices for the Mahindra Thar now range between INR 12.10 lakh to INR 14.15 lakh (ex-showroom).
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