A report on the Economic Times states that Mahindra has started working on the next generation Xylo MPV and Quanto (chopped sub-4 meter Xylo). Engineering work on these cars is not taking place in Mahindra's Chennai-based Research Valley, or at Nashik, but in North America.
Mahindra's North American Technical Center (MNATC) has recently hired 50 engineers from companies like Chrysler, GM, Ford, Dodge, Jeep, Nissan and Tesla. Put together, these engineers bring a total of 600 years worth of experience in design and development.
The engineers have varied exposure from working in projects like the Explorer (Ford), Grand Cherokee (Jeep), F-150 (Ford) and Model S (Tesla). The team is led by Rick Haas who reports to Rajan Wadhera.
The team at the North American center have started work on the new Xylo and Quanto which are expected to enter the market in 2017. Post this, the center will undertake two new global projects, one of which would be a global SUV scheduled for a 2018-19 launch.
New Mahindra Xylo Competitors: Honda Mobilio, Maruti Ertiga, Chevrolet Enjoy, Toyota Innova
New Mahindra Xylo Expected Price: INR 8 - 11 lakhs, ex-Showroom
New Mahindra Quanto Competitors: Ford EcoSport, VW Taigun, Tata Nexon
New Mahindra Quanto Expected Price: INR 6 - 8 lakhs, ex-Showroom
[Source - Economic Times]
