India’s motor giant Mahindra has revealed in a tweet that its 2023 Mahindra Scorpio-N will be released has in Australia in 2023. This will be released in Australia alongside its popular XUV700 medium SUV which has been delayed from its initial late 2022 launch.
It is reported that the seven-seater Scorpio-N has a body-on-frame four-wheel-drive with new styling, more space, and a modern interior. Other available interior features include a sunroof, wireless phone charging, dual-zone climate control, second-row air vents, a cooled glovebox, reversing camera, USB-A and USB-C ports, and push-button start.
The Scorpio-N measures 4662mm long, 1917mm wide and 1857mm tall, and sits on a 2750mm wheelbase. In India, Scorpio-N is sold between 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol and 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines, mated to a choice of six-speed manual and automatic transmissions, and rear- or four-wheel drive.
However, drive.com.au has reported that Scorpio-N is not available with any form of advanced safety technology such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB) or lane-keep assist.
The Australian government has set 1 March 2023 as the cut-off date for the mandatory fitment of AEB on newly-launched vehicles. So, if Mahindra plans to launch its Scorpio-N without AEB, the Indian car giant must go into production before this deadline. Further, to keep selling its Scorpio-N in Australia, Mahindra must gain the AEB technology before March 2025.
Recently, India’s Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has approved the draft notification to introduce Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) crash testing program. In his tweets, Gadkari said that this is similar to international standards such as Australia’s ANCAP: “The testing protocol of Bharat NCAP shall be aligned with Global Crash Test Protocols factoring in the existing Indian regulations, allowing OEMs to get their vehicles tested at India’s own in-house testing facilities.”
Scorpio-N in India costs just under two million rupees that is equal to around $AU36,000. Experts believe that Mahindra will announce the full pricing and specifications of Scorpio-N closer to its Australian launch.
