The new Thar has been one of the best-selling models for Mahindra in recent times. Since its unveiling back in October 2020, the Indian auto major has been receiving plenty of orders from eager customers. So many orders, in fact, that Mahindra simply wasn’t able to cope with the high demand. The company soon began rejigging the Thar line-up to alleviate some of the backlogs. Noticing that most of the customers were going for the higher AX (O) and LX variants, Mahindra decided to remove some of the lower variants for good. Currently, Thar buyers only have the option of the above two variants. Prices range between Rs 12.10 Lakh and Rs 14.15 Lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
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As the backlog kept increasing, the waiting period for some went up to 10 months! Obviously, that isn’t the most promising sign for those who were planning on buying the new Thar. In order to cope with that issue, Mahindra had announced late last year that it would be upping the production rate of the new Thar. Prior to January 2021, Mahindra was churning out around 2,000 units per month. This was then increased to 3,000 units per month, though even that doesn’t seem to be enough now. In February 2021, Mahindra announced that it had recorded 39,000 bookings for the new Thar. While that is surely a cause for celebration, it also showed the automaker that it might have to ramp-up production further.
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Mahindra had mentioned that, depending on demand, it might increase the new Thar’s production even more. Even after over four months since its debut, the new Thar is still racking up more orders than Mahindra can actually deliver. Of course, the company will obviously deliver your car depending on the slot given to you, but it can’t have the waiting period going up too much. Moreover, the automaker is facing issues regarding rising input costs and fluctuating semiconductor availability. In fact, almost every automaker in the world has been facing issues relating to the unavailability and/or reduction in the delivery of semiconductors.
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As you can imagine, that places more stress on the manufacturer and draws out the production process as well. Furthermore, this further aggravates the situation by extending the waiting time for customers who have already placed their orders. Mahindra mentioned that it is trying its best to sort out issues with the deliveries of semiconductors, though that is not all. In the past few weeks, the cost of steel has been on the rise. Since cars tend to use quite a bit of this raw material, there might be yet another price hike coming in the near future. As automakers grapple with the semiconductor and Covid-19 related issues, the hike in input costs will be passed onto customers eventually.
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The new Mahindra Thar is offered with two engine options. There is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo-petrol and a 2.2-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel. Transmission options include a 6-speed automatic and a 6-speed manual gearbox, while all variants come with a four-wheel-drive as standard. In terms of its output, the petrol engine is good for 150hp and up to 320Nm. Meanwhile, the turbo-diesel motor makes 130hp and 300Nm of maximum torque. The new Thar is available in six different colors – Aquamarine, Galaxy Grey, Mystic Copper, Napoli Black, Rocky Beige, and Red Rage. Features such as keyless entry, electrically-operated door mirrors, cruise control, and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto & Apple CarPlay are present on the new Thar.
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The new Mahindra Thar also scored a 4-star safety rating at Global NCAP. It gets dual airbags, Electronic Stability Program, Electronic Roll Over Mitigation, and ABS with EBD plus Brake Assist. These new and improved features definitely go hand-in-hand with Thar’s long legacy and an increasingly lengthy fan following. Considering how things are currently progressing, Mahindra will very likely increase Thar’s production even more in the coming months.
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