Mahindra XUV700 Loses Options — Chip Shortage To Blame

Speaking to Moneycontrol, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director (Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors), M&M, said, "There are specific shortages of semiconductors that go into high-end products. We may adapt some of our variant offerings in XUV700 to give customers the option of giving up some features on a lower-price setoff, depending on the kind of shortages. We are not forcing the customer to buy the new variant. It is completely up to them to choose."

Mahindra's top-spec XUV700 comes with a total of 170 chips which control a range of features from the touchscreen control of the infotainment system to the wireless charging pad. However, most of the chips on the Mahindra XUV700 are used to control the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Due to the shortage of chips, Mahindra has had to step down its production. The company has dropped production numbers by 32,000 units during the previous quarter as the auto industry struggles with the current deficiency in available microchips. The company currently has 1,60,000 vehicles on a backlog which includes quite a few units of the XUV700 SUV. Mahindra recently stated that it had received 70,000 bookings for the SUV since its launch in October.

Other carmakers are taking innovative steps to deal with the lack of microchips. Tata Motors, the third largest carmaker in the country (in terms of monthly sales) has been working closely with its British brands Jaguar and Land Rover to help it overcome the shortage. The company has switched to using general purpose microchips instead of application specific chips. This has greatly reduced the total number of chips required in each car, allowing the company to keep production levels steady.

However, other carmakers haven't been so lucky and many including the nation's largest, Maruti Suzuki have had to cut production numbers due to the severity of the microchip shortages.

he Mahindra XUV700 is the brand's flagship model and is currently offered with two turbocharged engine options — a 2.0-litre petrol and a 2.2-litre diesel. Mahindra has already started deliveries of the petrol variants to customers with deliveries of the diesels set to start at the end of November.

The base version of the Mahindra XUV700 recently scored a 5 star rating in tests conducted by Global NCAP in Germany. The flagship Mahindra SUV endured both frontal and side impact tests to take the coveted top star rating mark. The XUV700 also received 4 stars for child safety. You can read more about the XUV700's safety test results here.

Thoughts On Mahindra's Response To The Chip Shortage

Mahindra is doing what many carmakers across the world have done to deal with the chip shortage by lopping off a few features to increase production numbers. By lopping off features like the wireless charging pad, which put quite frankly, most customers end up ignoring anyway in India, and offering customers a rebate on the price tag, Mahindra is leveraging the need for a new vehicle against 'features', which we feel is rather clever move. Ultimately, the decision is left to the customer, so chose wisely.