From 30% to all: How Mahindra’s NU_IQ targets India’s SUV heartland

For a company that has built its identity around “authentic SUVs,” the challenge today is not about preserving the past but ensuring relevance in a market where expectations are shifting rapidly, regulations are tightening, and design is no longer an afterthought. It was this sense of transition that Dr Anish Shah, Group CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra, underscored when he reflected on the company’s journey. “A decade ago, we were firefighting. Today, with steady gains and confidence, we can afford to look at the long term,” he said. That long-term vision is crystallised in the form of NU_IQ, a modular platform that Mahindra hopes will allow it to reclaim the ground it has ceded for too long. Also Read : What is the Mahindra NU_IQ Platform? Here is all you need to know… From 30% to the rest of the pieIndia today is the third-largest car market in the world, and SUVs are its driving force, accounting for nearly half of all passenger vehicle sales. Within this segment, the compact SUV has become the default choice for buyers, thanks in large part to India’s quirky tax policy that incentivises vehicles under four metres. Globally, this category barely exists, yet in India it has come to define aspiration and practicality rolled into one. Mahindra, despite being the name most associated with SUVs in the Indian imagination, has largely sat out this story. Its forte has been larger models like the Bolero, Scorpio and XUV700, vehicles that define ruggedness but operate only in about 30 per cent of the SUV market. Rivals, meanwhile, have marched ahead with compact offerings that sell in vast numbers. Maruti Suzuki with the Brezza, Tata with the Nexon, Hyundai with the Venue, and even newcomers like Kia with the Sonet, have capitalised on the sub-four metre opportunity. With products like the Mahindra XUV700 and Scorpio N, Mahindra is currently catering to the 30 per cent of the passenger vehicle market while rest 70 per cent is still untapped. Nalinikanth Gollagunta, who heads Mahindra’s Auto & Farm Sectors, admitted as much during the Freedom_NU event. “We serve about 30 per cent of the SUV market today. The task now is to capture the rest,” he said. That “rest” is not trivial; it is the bulk of the market, and Mahindra’s absence from it has been glaring. NU_IQ is, in many ways, a statement of intent that Mahindra cannot afford to stay on the sidelines anymore. NU_IQ: An engineering resetNU_IQ is being positioned as much more than a flexible platform. For Mahindra, it represents an engineering reset, an attempt to get right what it failed to achieve in its earlier forays into the compact space. Models like the Quanto and KUV100 were ambitious but flawed, compromised on proportions and space, and ultimately fell by the wayside. NU_IQ is an effort to erase that memory. Veluswamy, President of Automotive Technology and Product Development, outlined what makes NU_IQ different. He spoke about the importance of getting the fundamentals right, wheelbase, legroom, seating position and suspension, the aspects that determine whether a compact SUV feels cramped or complete. NU_IQ’s 2665 mm wheelbase and 937 mm rear legroom are intended to offer “business class” space, while a 1563 mm seating point ensures the commanding driving position that Indian buyers value. A five-link rear suspension, uncommon in this category, has been designed to provide stability and comfort. Safety, too, has been prioritised from day one. NU_IQ vehicles are being engineered to achieve five-star ratings not just in Global NCAP but also in Euro NCAP and ANCAP. More than 100 patents have been filed around structural safety and engineering. This represents a significant departure from the past, when compact SUVs were often treated as budget vehicles with limited safety credentials. The platform’s timeline is ambitious. According to the company’s roadmap, the first NU_IQ based compact SUVs, both ICE and EV, are expected to reach the market by 2027, with a pipeline of at least three products unveiled in the initial phase. These will include sub-four metre SUVs designed for India as well as slightly larger models positioned for international markets. The idea is to establish NU_IQ as a scalable base for the next decade of compact Mahindras, with derivatives spanning multiple body styles. Design maturity and cultural resonanceIf engineering determines credibility, design determines acceptance. For Mahindra, design is not just about aesthetics but about projecting authenticity. Chief Design Officer Pratap Bose has often spoken about the growing maturity of Indian car buyers. At the Freedom NXT showcase, he noted that Indian consumers are no longer willing to settle for second-best. “We can design cars that work in Bengaluru and Birmingham alike,” he said, signalling that Mahindra’s designs would need to straddle local and global expectations. The sub-4 metre SUV was perhaps the toughest challenge for Bose. It is a format that exists only in India, born of tax rules rather than customer demand, and yet it has become the best-selling category in the market. Bose’s approach has been to retain Mahindra’s SUV DNA, upright stance, strong shoulders, large wheels while ensuring proportions and design maturity that meet international standards. “Authenticity is non-negotiable,” he emphasised. Design remains an intergral part of Mahindra’s current and future products to gain new customers and retain existing clientele. Sometimes, design also becomes cultural storytelling. The Mahindra BE6 Batman Edition was one such example, created after Mahindra realised how deeply younger Indians connect with superhero films. Bose pointed out that while comics may no longer dominate, cinema has given these characters new life for a generation of audiences. The BE6 Batman Edition remains the only mass-produced car in the world with official Batman branding. While it is limited in numbers, its symbolic value is significant: Mahindra is showing a willingness to engage younger consumers on their cultural terms, not on legacy tropes. Two philosophies for EVsElectrification, for Mahindra, is not a one-size-fits-all play. The company is pursuing two distinct approaches depending on the size and positioning of the vehicle. For larger models over 4.5 metres in length, ICE and EV products will run on entirely separate platforms, the INGLO architecture for electric SUVs and the existing ICE platforms that underpin models like the XUV700 for combustion engines. The compact segment, however, is a different story. With the NU_IQ platform, Mahindra is attempting something more ambitious, a single base engineered for both ICE and EV derivatives. Even though the EVs developed on NU_IQ are being described as “born electric,” they will share the same underlying architecture as their ICE siblings. As Veluswamy explained, this was a deliberate engineering choice to offer flexibility without compromising on packaging or performance. This dual-track strategy reflects Mahindra’s recognition that electrification will unfold unevenly across segments and geographies. Larger SUVs are more likely to find early EV adoption among premium buyers, while compact SUVs will need to serve both combustion and electric customers for the foreseeable future. NU_IQ provides that flexibility, while INGLO allows for purist EV design at the top end. The timeline is already in place. Mahindra has indicated that the first NU_IQ-based products will begin rolling out in the second half of this decade, starting around 2027, with sub-four metre SUVs and compact crossovers leading the charge. This cadence is meant to plug Mahindra’s absence in the fastest-growing part of the market while keeping pace with the regulatory push towards cleaner mobility. Premiumisation at the entry pointOne theme that came through strongly in the discussions was how the entry point into car ownership has shifted. A decade ago, it was the hatchback, the Alto, the Santro, the WagonR. Today, the first-time buyer is far more likely to enter through a compact SUV. This changes the logic of how compact vehicles are built. Mahindra executives noted that these buyers expect strong design, safety, and features. They are no longer willing to compromise just because the vehicle is small. NU_IQ has been built with this in mind, to ensure that Mahindra’s compact SUVs are aspirational rather than stripped down. This reflects a broader societal trend in India, where affluence has risen and expectations of quality have grown with it. Global ambitions, tempered by lessonsMahindra’s global ambitions are not new, but they have often been thwarted by missteps. Its investment in SsangYong in Korea failed to yield lasting results. The Roxor in the US became mired in intellectual property disputes. Even earlier, Mahindra’s small-car experiment with the Logan ended in retreat. This time, the company insists, the approach will be measured. India remains the first priority, but the international roadmap is clear. Mahindra’s SUVs are already present in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, with the Scorpio-N and XUV700 gaining traction in those markets. Europe and Latin America are next in line, with initial entries planned by 2027, once Mahindra has a proven portfolio of five-star-rated vehicles on the NU_IQ and INGLO platforms. Also Read : Mahindra inaugurates new assembly plant in South Africa Early signs are encouraging. The XUV3XO was recently named ‘Car of the Year’ in South Africa, reinforcing that Mahindra’s new generation of products is capable of competing against global brands. The company is also investing in homologation and testing for Euro NCAP and ANCAP standards from day one, ensuring there are no engineering compromises when models are exported. As Dr Shah puts it, “We are designing from day one for Euro NCAP and ANCAP standards. That is the only way to build credibility abroad.” The timeline may be gradual, but the intent is unmistakable: Mahindra wants to reclaim international credibility not by rushing into acquisitions, but by letting its product portfolio do the talking. The larger canvasFor Mahindra, the Freedom_NU moment is less about flashy concepts and more about reclaiming ground. The company knows that it cannot afford to play in just 30 per cent of the SUV market while rivals consolidate their presence across the spectrum. NU_IQ is designed to fill that void, to ensure Mahindra can compete not just in the premium and large SUV space but also at the entry point where volumes are greatest. The Scorpio once gave Mahindra an urban identity. The XUV700 cemented its relevance as a mainstream SUV maker. NU_IQ now represents the attempt to universalise Mahindra’s appeal, to build vehicles that meet the demands of India’s unique compact SUV market while also establishing credibility abroad. The Freedom_NU was about more than new models. It was about staking relevance in a market that has moved on, chasing the missing 70 per cent of the SUV space, and preparing for a decade in which safety, design and electrification will determine winners. For Mahindra, the task is not to preserve the past but to write itself back into the centre of the SUV story, in India and beyond. Get insights into Upcoming Cars In India, Electric Vehicles, Upcoming Bikes in India and cutting-edge technology transforming the automotive landscape. First Published Date: 16 Aug 2025, 13:13 pm IST
Source: hindustantimes.com