Mahindra’s first global ute to be partly developed in Australia

The replacement for the long-serving Mahindra Pik-Up will be launched in 2026 as a global model for the first time, and it will benefit from significant Australian development input.

According to the global head of Mahindra Automotive, Veejay Nakra, the Indian auto-maker’s first all-new ute since the original Pik-Up in 2007 will ride on a variation of the new-generation ladder-frame platform, codenamed Z101, that underpins the newly released Mahindra Scorpio off-road SUV (pictured).

“We have very strong ladder-frame capabilities, so clearly we see a lot of commonality that can come … When you create a scale product, commonality of many components is also what matters,” Nakra told carsales at the launch of the new Mahindra XUV700 medium SUV earlier this month.

Apart from being the world’s biggest tractor manufacturer, Mahindra is a leading light commercial vehicle maker with more than 350,000 SUVs and utes built in its previous financial year.

But Nakra – who was in Australia for the local launch of the second new Mahindra model in as many months, and to gauge the expansion of the brand’s dealer network expansion into key metro areas – said Mahindra’s first ‘Global Pickup’ would be distinctly different to both the Scorpio and the utilitarian Pik-Up.

“We have a global platform available to take it towards creating a global pick-up. Obviously that doesn’t mean we will take it as it is,” he said.

“We will use it as a base and then whatever we need to do to make it relevant for the markets that we will take it to, we will do it on that platform. That process is already done.”

Mahindra Automotive’s global chief said the as-yet-unnamed global pick-up (Mahindra is yet to decide whether it will be called the Pik-Up) will be launched within three years, during India’s 2027 financial year ending in March of that year.

By then, Mahindra will not only have had the luxury of benchmarking its new ute against the new-generation Ford Ranger, but also the next Mitsubishi Triton due in 2024 and the next Toyota HiLux due in 2025.

And Nakra indicated it will be subjected to even more Australian development testing than both the Scorpio – which covered over 120,000km here including tow testing, hot-weather testing in the Northern Territory and cold-weather testing in the Snowy Mountains – and the XUV700, which was tested here for more than 50,000km over the last six months.

“Australia is a critical market and we’re in the process of developing the product, so yes absolutely,” he said when asked if the global pick-up will be tested on Aussie roads and tracks.

“Australia will be an important part of our development strategy for the global pick-up. I was talking to some of our dealers yesterday and of course we will also involve them as we develop the product for Australia.”

Nakra said that rather than our roads, it is Australia’s large and diverse ute market that places unique requirements on tray-back vehicles, including everything from weekend warrior use to weekday work-tool chores.

“The difference [between Australia and India] is not so much about the road. I think that towing capability and lifestyle applications in Australia is very different from India,” he said.

“What we really need to test the vehicle for in Australia is not the road conditions or the temperature – because India has both – but the application of towing boats and caravans, which is not a lifestyle in India.

“That’s the kind of testing we need to do here. When we talk about creating a global pick-up it is about creating a ute which is lifestyle.”

No details about the new Mahindra ute have been revealed, but it’s likely to borrow heavily from the Scorpio in terms of technology and design, including the SUV’s more handsome new front-end with Mahindra’s fresh Twin Peaks brand logo.

And like Kia’s upcoming Tasman ute, to be competitive with Australia’s most popular utes it will need to be available in a variety of body styles powered by a range of engines and capable of carrying 1000kg and towing 3500kg.

Currently, the Mahindra Scorpio is powered by a 129kW/400Nm 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, affording it a 2500kg braked towing capacity and 510kg payload. Engine outputs would need to increase to about 150kW/500Nm to match the volume-selling HiLux and Ranger.

One thing the new Mahindra ute will have on its side is price. Like the existing Pik-Up, which will continue to target agricultural buyers until it’s replaced, both the Scorpio and XUV are several thousand dollars cheaper than their rivals, and Nakra confirmed that value strategy will continue with all future Mahindra products.

“From a customer point of view I don’t think we fall short today even on design or on global standards of fit, finish, quality and sophistication,” he said. “Our brand will always be a good value brand, so whatever we do we will always offer value to our customers.”

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