The XUV500 is the latest offering from Mahindra and they have branded it as a global SUV. The vehicle has received good response from the critics and the customers alike. Bookings for this vehicle climbed all the way to around 8000 when the company had to stop the bookings temporarily to reduce the waiting period for customers. The XUV500 has been in development for about 4 years and was codenamed as W201. The 4 year journey has been a very interesting one for the entire team associated with it.
“In MAPS, the focus revolves around the worker. He is the king. You have to provide equipment, conveyors and facilities in a manner that gives him less fatigue and is ergonomically-friendly. In Nashik, we had five to six stages where people could start working with their hands. For example, in the XUV500 line, there are a lot of electricals which are unlike the Scorpio, and there are a lot of blind spots, so he has to just feel with his hands. We created a tool for blind operations and the worker became good enough to work without seeing,” Vijay Dhongde, CEO, Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers, said.
Mahindra had tie-ups with Ford and Renault at different times and so have incorporated the best of both. From the development point, a team of 25 engineers were sent to the Mahindra Research Valley to be a part of the project from its prototyping. In total Mahindra has pumped in around Rs 850 crore in the development of the vehicle which includes quality improvements and checks and testing of prototypes in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, USA, UAE (HVAC testing), Brazil, China, Sweden, UK, Germany and Africa.
Source – Autocar India
