Mahindra discontinued the Verito Vibe hatchback recently. Should the Mahindra NuvoSport discontinue too?
Mahindra’s marketing team finally woke up when they decided to pull the plug on the Verito Vibe and SsangYong Rexton. But that is not enough and we feel that the company still has to do corrections in their portfolio. Last year, Mahindra impressed us with the sub 4-metre passenger car TUV300. This year the same category expanded exponentially with the launches of the KUV100, NuvoSport and Bolero Power+.
A fresh investment is generally done where there is potential for business, but Mahindra missed out on this simple logic. It is repeating the same mistake with the NuvoSport just like it did with Verito Vibe. Mahindra launched the Verito Vibe even though the Verito/Logan (sedan) was not doing well since launch. The Quanto wasn’t doing well and Mahindra still gave it a facelift and renamed it NuvoSport. Should Mahindra NuvoSport discontinue?
The Mahindra NuvoSport is slotted in the heavily competing compact SUV segment where it rivals the Ford EcoSport, Maruti Vitara Brezza and also its sibling, the Mahindra TUV300. The NuvoSport comes with a 1.5-litre diesel engine along with manual and AMT gearboxes and it is priced between Rs. 7.37-9.78 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Should Mahindra NuvoSport Be Discontinued?
– Sub 4-metre SUV segment is in its adolescence stage
– Sales in this segment are not high which is why excessive models would make a bad business case
– The NuvoSport has got no edge over the TUV300 except for the cheeky looks and roomier cabin
– Additional R&D required to strengthen the car to meet Bharat NVSAP crash test norms