Mahindra clarifies why the XUV700 price was cut

Business.Business. Mahindra & Mahindra said there is no connection between the recent price cut on the XUV700 variants and the electric vehicle/hybrid vehicle policy of Uttar Pradesh. “The price cut on the XUV700 is a part of the execution of our business strategy, which was clearly articulated in our February 14, 2024 analyst meeting, where we clearly outlined that we would have to bring down the average price point to drive growth,” the company said in a stock exchange filing. We initiated this effort with the launch of the AX5 Select variant in May 2024 and have also brought in the 3rd Anniversary Celebration variant for the high-end XUV700 for a limited period of 4 months,” Mahindra & Mahindra said.

The company also said the price cut is a “well-thought-out” action that was factored into its commercial plan based on material cost savings achieved earlier. In the stock market today, M&M shares fell nearly 7 per cent, while benchmark indices were down 0.8 per cent. Brokerage firm Axis Capital put a target price of ₹3,150 on the stock and said, “We see total volumes for XUV700 have been around 6,000/month (15% of M&M’s total SUV volumes), and as per our understanding, the top 2 trims of the model (AX7 and AX7L) account for around 50-60% of the volumes.” Uttar Pradesh waived off registration fees for strong hybrid and plug-in vehicles, reducing their cost of ownership by 10%. Currently, EVs are taxed at 5% while hybrids are taxed at 43%. On this, Mahindra & Mahindra said, “We firmly believe that hybrids are an interim and expensive solution. And, we have the agility to offer high-quality products for all solutions our consumers desire.