Mahindra to produce 2,500 units of Quanto in October

New Delhi: Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra said it is expecting to produce 2,500 units of its latest compact sports utility vehicle Quanto in October.

"For October, our production plan is 2,500 units of Quanto. After selling these vehicles, we hope to get more demand for the vehicle," Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Chief Executive (Automotive Division) Pravin Shah told reporters.

The company has a combined production capacity of 7,000 units per month for its multi utility vehicle Xylo and Quanto, which was launched on Thursday in Mumbai. It will be produced at its Nashik facility, he added.

"Currently, we are producing around 2,500 units of Xylo. Rest we can use for Quanto... We will not have much problem in ramping up the capacity of Quanto as many of the parts are common with Xylo," Shah said.

The Quanto is priced between Rs 5.99 lakh and Rs 7.57 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

M&M will start exporting the Quanto to neigbhouring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, besides South Africa to begin with in the next three-four months, which will be followed by Europe and Latin America.

The sub four-metre Quanto is powered by a three-cylinder 1.5 litre diesel engine. The company has invested Rs 100 crore in developing the five-seater Quanto.

A sub four-metre Verito sedan will hit the roads by the end of this financial year, Shah said.

Meanwhile, the auto major said that it does not forsee any impact of the diesel price hike on its compact SUV Quanto, as the easing interest rate will take care of any psychologically effect on potential buyers.

"We do not forsee any impact despite the diesel price hike as the interest rate is easing. So the impact will get mitigated," M&M GM marketing R K Mitra said in Kolkata on the sidelines of launch of Quanto.

M&M also plans to launch Rexton sports utility vehicle from its South Korean subsidiary SsangYong Motor's stable and Mahindra Reva NXR electric car ahead of the Diwali.

"We will launch the high-end SUV Rexton. It will be the first Ssangyong product that we will launch sometime by Diwali", Mahindra and Mahindra, Senior Vice President Marketing (Automotive Sector) Vivek Nayer told reporters in Chennai.

He said Rexton would be a high-end SUV above the Mahindra XUV500 and would compete with Toyota Fortuner and General Motors' Captiva.