Mahindra will start selling the XUV500 in global markets soon with Australia one of the first countries outside of India to receive the XUV later this month. The Indian automaker is already testing left hand drive versions of the vehicle, which would see an European debut next year. Mahindra also plans to offer the XUV500 in the U.S. and both the European and U.S. markets use left hand drive layout. These markets are petrol dominated and automatic transmission is the more popular gearbox option. Thus the company is looking at developing a petrol automatic for export markets.
Eagle eyed MotorBeam reader Hari Krishnan was quick to spot the left hand drive version of the Mahindra XUV500 in Ooty near the NH67 highway. He was traveling in his Maruti Suzuki Swift and followed the car to snap these pictures. The tail gate clearly mentions W201 and left hand drive but there is no mention of the engine or gearbox featured on this vehicle. We speculate Mahindra could be testing a petrol engine which is mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox as most left hand drive markets are petrol dominated. More so, Mahindra has already tested the diesel engine extensively, before launching the XUV500 in the Indian market.
Mahindra will not be launching a petrol version of the XUV500 in the Indian market as our country is a diesel dominated one. An automatic gearbox in the diesel XUV500 could take atleast another year. The Indian utility maker recently re-opened bookings of the XUV all across India, after closing it twice due to high demand. Mahindra has also doubled XUV500 production to 4000 units per month and plans to further increase it to 5000 units per month by October. This will ensure that the company is able to cater to both domestic and international demand.
