Mahindra Verito Compact Sedan to co-exist with the full sized version

Even as Mahindra launched a facelidted model of the Verito sedan a couple of weeks ago, development work continues on a compact sedan version of the car, which will shorten its length to under 4 meters. A sub-4 meters length will mean that the Verito compact sedan will qualify as a small car, which also means that it will get attractive duty benefits that the Indian government endows all cars that measure under 4 meters in length. The Verito compact sedan will co-exist with the full sized version of the car model, although the price of the former is expected be cheaper than that of the latter by about INR 40,000.

2012 Mahindra Verito Refresh Facelift Sedan used as an illustration

Thus, the Mahindra Verito compact sedan will be one of the least priced sedans in the Indian car market, competing with the Tata Indigo eCS, which incidetnally was the first compact sedan to be launched in India, and the world. Compact sedans measuring in at under 4 meters in length are a new class of cars sold in India. Car makers usually chop off the boot of a regular sedan, to come up with a shortened boot version, while retaining the stock wheelbase. This means that the space on the interiors remains unchanged while the boot gets smaller.

Currently, there are two compact sedans doing duty in India, in the form of the Tata Indigo eCS and the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire compact sedan. There are two more compact sedans lined up for a launch in the Indian car market, in the form of the Mahindra Verito CS and the Tata Manza CS. Like the full size sedan, the Verito CS could be powered with a 1.5 Liter K9K turbo diesel engine, highly acclaimed for its excellent drivability and high fuel economy. The 1.4 liter petrol engine though, would need to be downsized to 1.2 liters as that is the biggest engine size allowed on compact sedans, for them to take advantage of the lower duties.

So, Mahindra could either come up with a 1.2 Liter petrol engine or dump the petrol engine from the Verito CS, as petrol engines comprise of a small chunk of sales anyway. Expect the changes effected on the facelifted version of the Verito to be carried over to the compact sedan version of the car as well. Also, like Maruti Suzuki has done with the Dzire, the compact sedan version of the Verito could be targeted at family car buyers while the full sized version could be aimed more at cab operators, who will find the bigger boot extremely useful.

Source BusinessStandard