EXCLUSIVE! 

Sources in Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) have confirmed that the next-gen Ssangyong (Y400) Rexton G4 will be launched as a Mahindra SUV but will not follow the company’s alphanumeric naming system. M&M had earlier considered calling the new Rexton the XUV700 in order to position it hierarchically above the XUV500 and in-line with its natural rivals, the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour. 

However, M&M has had a change of thought and believes the Mahindra-badged Y400 needs a standalone name to give it a more distinct identity. Also, the reaction to the Italian sounding, but somewhat controversial, ‘Marazzo’ name for its latest MPV created a lot of chatter on social media and has prompted M&M to adopt a similar strategy for its flagship SUV. “You can like it or hate it but you can’t ignore it. The buzz created around the Marazzo name piqued the interest of a lot of potential customers and got them to the showroom” said a Mahindra dealer.

Pawan Goenka hinted that the name chosen for the new Mahindra flagship SUV will also be provocative and “get people talking.” Without giving too much away, he also confirmed that the name, which is likely to be revealed in the run-up to the launch, won’t traditionally end with the letter ‘O’ marking another break from M&M’s naming convention. 

The XUV500 was the first Mahindra to be given an alphanumeric name when it was launched in 2011. Since then there hasn’t been another XUV but instead we’ve had the TUV300 and KUV100. Also, strong brands like the Bolero and Scorpio have rightfully not been named with an anonymous alphanumeric string.

While an alphanumeric name is a good way to tell where a model fits in a car brand’s line-up, it doesn’t evoke imagery and emotion like a proper name.  M&M’s naming strategy may lack consistency and seem confused with no proper pattern being followed for all its models. But as they say, what’s in a name?