Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), long known in India as the home of rugged utility vehicles, has successfully turned its SUV strategy into a dominant force in the country’s vehicle market by understanding what Indian buyers want and capitalising on the SUV boom over decades.
The company’s SUV journey traces back to assembling the iconic Willys Jeep in India after independence and later launching mass-market favourites like the Bolero, Scorpio, and XUV500. These vehicles helped M&M build a strong base among Indian customers seeking rugged performance suited to local conditions.
A major chapter in this story was Mahindra’s acquisition of the South Korean SUV maker SsangYong Motor Company in 2011 for around USD 463 million (about Rs 2,105 crore). This strategic move was aimed at boosting M&M’s engineering and product portfolio by leveraging SsangYong’s SUV expertise.
Under Mahindra’s ownership, SsangYong products were introduced or localised in India with mixed results. Vehicles like the Rexton, built on SsangYong platforms and manufactured at Mahindra’s Chakan facility, sought to capture the premium SUV segment.
While the SsangYong venture did not become a runaway success globally — and the company eventually faced financial stress leading to acquisition efforts by other firms — the collaboration enriched M&M’s SUV engineering capabilities and contributed to its understanding of global SUV trends.
Backed by this deep SUV expertise, Mahindra consistently timed key product launches to market demand. The Scorpio and later the XUV series became defining models that expanded M&M’s share well ahead of many competitors in the SUV space.
This focus on SUVs — from value-oriented models to feature-rich offerings — helped Mahindra outperform rivals and cement its place as one of India’s leading SUV makers. The company’s ability to anticipate customer preferences and roll out robust products at the right time has been central to its success story in the domestic automotive industry.
