After six years on sale, Mahindra will pull the plug on the Marazzo MPV. The rival to the Maruti Ertiga, XL6 and Kia Carens was brought out in 2018, but hasn’t been the sales success that Mahindra had hoped for. Prices for the Marazzo had first been revealed in September 2018 – the MPV was priced between Rs 9.99 lakh-13.90 lakh, and came in four trims and seven- and eight-seat configurations.
- Marazzo sales averaged 34 units in the last five months
- Was available with a sole 123hp diesel and manual gearbox
- No replacement planned
Sources say the last batch of Marazzos will be produced in the coming weeks. The end of production for the MPV is planned within the next two months. An email sent to the company is yet to elicit any response.
The move makes Mahindra a pure-play SUV maker. The Verito was the last sedan produced by the company, and the discontinuation of the Marazzo will end Mahindra’s presence in any non-SUV segment.
The MPV market today accounts for about 16 percent of the total Indian passenger vehicle market. Toyota Kirloskar and Maruti Suzuki rule the roost, and Kia and Renault continue to have a decent presence in the segment, adding to their respective volumes. For Mahindra, the volume of Marazzos sold had come down to two digits, and was disconnected from its current portfolio of strong SUV play.
The Indian brand has retailed 44,793 Marazzo MPVs from launch to June 2024, which equates to a monthly average of nearly 640 units. Sales of the Mahindra took a nosedive during and after the COVID-19 related lockdowns and were barely in double digits towards the end. The brand even upgraded the MPV's diesel engine to meet the stricter BS6.2 norms that came into effect in April 2023. To put the sales figures into perspective, over the last five months, Marazzo sales averaged 34 units, while Maruti and Kia sold an average of 14,495 Ertigas and 4,412 Carens MPVs, respectively. Production of the Marazzo is expected to stop next month, in August, which means there may be some units on sale until stocks last at dealerships.
| Mahindra Marazzo sales | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| January | - | 3,504 | 1,267 | 175 | 0 | 164 | 32 |
| February | - | 2,881 | 1,236 | 120 | 147 | 171 | 51 |
| March | - | 2,751 | 23 | 255 | 279 | 490 | 51 |
| April | - | 1,692 | 0 | 161 | 168 | 0 | 20 |
| May | - | 1,381 | 0 | 60 | 127 | 33 | 16 |
| June | - | 1,206 | 0 | 402 | 124 | 79 | - |
| July | - | 956 | 20 | 279 | 213 | 81 | - |
| August | 1,762 | 697 | 635 | 181 | 45 | 47 | - |
| September | 2,829 | 892 | 936 | 70 | 162 | 144 | - |
| October | 3,810 | 1,044 | 737 | 12 | 213 | 89 | - |
| November | 3,387 | 1,007 | 226 | 99 | 201 | 49 | - |
| December | 3,206 | 1,292 | 161 | 2 | 171 | 62 | - |
| TOTAL | 14,994 | 19,303 | 5,241 | 1,816 | 1,850 | 1,409 | 170 |
Inventory does seem to be on the higher side as the Marazzo – which now retails between Rs 14.59 lakh-17 lakh and has three trims – was available with discounts of up to Rs 93,000 until June.
Unlike most Mahindras, the Marazzo wasn't developed in India. It was the first car to be created by the Mahindra North American Technical Centre (MNATC) in Michigan, USA. For the entire duration it was on sale, the MPV received no major updates, mechanically or feature-wise, which did affect sales figures. This was despite talks of an AMT-equipped version and a petrol-powered model, neither of which materialised.
Mahindra’s MPV had a sole 123hp, 1.5-litre diesel engine that came paired to a 6-speed manual gearbox; this combination was rated at 17.3kpl by ARAI. Even among its MPV brethren, the Marazzo was unique as it was underpinned by a ladder-frame platform, but had a front-wheel-drive setup. This combination was not as desirable, especially in hilly regions. On an upslope, a rear-wheel drive model, like Toyota’s Innova Crysta, would deliver better traction due to the weight transfer to the back. In addition, buyers also complained the Marazzo’s 300Nm four-cylinder engine felt underpowered when the MPV was fully loaded.
With no replacement in sight for the Mahindra MPV, the Indian brand’s line-up will only consist of SUVs going forward. Mahindra is gearing up to bring the Thar 5-door to the market in the coming weeks, and is working on bringing the XUV700-based EV to a showroom near you before the year is out.
WITH INPUTS FROM KETAN THAKKAR
Also see:
Mahindra Marazzo review, road test
Every diesel MPV in India under Rs 30 lakh
Mahindra Scorpio N now gets ventilated seats, wireless charger
