A new design head, some new SUVs, and now, possibly, a new logo. Is Mahindra eyeing a complete makeover of itself?
That may be the case, if a leaked image of the company’s purported new logo proves to be legit. A poster on the automotive discussion forum TeamBHP shared an image of what they said was an unfinished version of Mahindra’s next brand logo, which is expected to debut with the upcoming XUV700.
If true, the new logo would replace Mahindra’s now 21-year-old logo that debuted in 2000. Then too, the logo came following a reorganisation by then Managing Director Anand Mahindra, and appeared on the 2002 Scorpio.
The new logo was not used, however, on the recently released Mahindra Bolero ‘Neo’.
Mahindra and Mahindra have been quite serious about taking the company in a new direction. While sales of rival Tata Motors passenger vehicles went up 69 per cent in the year-ended March 2021, Mahindra’s own PV sales were down 16 per cent. In a bid to shake things up, the company hired former Tata Motors’ design head Pratap Bose, who is set to play a transformative role as the company reveals a brand new product portfolio over the next few years.
The new XUV700 will be based on the company’s new W601 platform. It will be manufactured at the company's Chakan facility in Maharashtra. According to reports, it will come with a new “smart filter” technology, as well as several other “smart SUV” features like driver-drowsiness detection, a driver assistance system, cameras, a twin-touchscreen display, climate control, wireless charging and Android Auto and Apple Carplay support.