Mahindra & Mahindra has commenced deliveries of its recently launched flagship, the XUV700. Two of India’s sporting heroes and ace javelin throwers, Neeraj Chopra and Sumit Antil, are among the first in India to have received the SUV – customised especially for the champions of champions.
- Customised XUV700 painted in midnight black
- The athletes’ records are emblazoned in gold on the car
- Neeraj Chopra is first Indian athlete to win a track and field medal in 100 years
On August 7, 23-year-old Chopra delivered a throw of 87.58 metres in the Olympic finals to outperform rivals and win the gold medal. He also became the first Indian athlete to win a track and field medal in the Olympics in 100 years.
The decision to gift the Olympic medal winners an XUV700 came about after a Twitter follower of Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra had asked him to gift Chopra the then upcoming XUV700. Mahindra had responded, “Yes indeed, it will be my personal privilege and honour to gift our Golden Athlete an XUV700.” He even tagged Mahindra executive director Rajesh Jejurikar and Mahindra CEO Automotive Division Veejay Nakra, asking them to “keep one ready for him please.”
Today, on receiving his XUV700, Chopra tweeted: “Thank you @anandmahindraji for the new set of wheels with some very special customisation! I'm looking forward to taking the car out for a spin very soon.” Chopra's XUV700 is emblazoned with his record-breaking throw and a javelin graphic .
Earlier today, Mahindra & Mahindra also handed over the keys of the Gold Edition XUV700 to Sumit Antil, the gold medal winner of the F64 Men’s javelin throw. Antil took top honours with his throw of 68.55 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics – Sumit’s record is embossed as a badge on the fender and tailgate of the SUV.
Designed by Pratap Bose, EVP and chief design officer, M&M, this custom-made XUV700 in midnight black sports tasteful gold accents inside and out. Antil's noteworthy record is also embroidered on all the six headrests and the front dashboard.
XUV700: Waiting periods could stretch for more than year
First revealed on August 14, the Mahindra XUV700 begins Mahindra’s offensive to reclaim leadership in India’s ultra-competitive SUV market. When bookings opened on October 7, the surge in consumer interest and demand for the product was massive. In barely two days, the company secured bookings for 50,000 XUV700s worth Rs 9,500 crore in ex-showroom value.
While the bookings on October 7 took a scant 57 minutes, or 438 units a minute, the next 25,000 on October 8 took about two hours, or 208 units a minute. At a time when the passenger vehicle market and India Auto Inc is looking for positive market news, this robust round of demand for the Mahindra flagship SUV is good news for the industry as a whole.
While deliveries of the XUV700 petrol have now commenced, buyers of the diesel will get their vehicles mid-November onwards. M&M has announced plans to deliver 14,000 units of the SUV by mid-January 2022. However, it has also stated that deliveries could be delayed, depending on the availability of semiconductors. In September, M&M sold a total of 1,370 XUV700s comprising 1,074 petrol and 296 diesel variants.
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