Mahindra has just announced it has received over 25,000 bookings for its hugely popular XUV500 SUV in its second phase of bookings. Due to overwhelming demand – over 8,000 bookings ­– the company closed bookings just 10 days after the October 2011 launch, but re-opened them on January 25, 2012. The new bookings have been registered from between then and February 3 from across 19 cities –Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh/Panchkula, Ludhiana, Jallandhar, Patiala, Kochi, Trivandrum, Calicut, Trissur, Coimbatore, Nagpur and Nasik.

Mahindra had initially offered the XUV500 at an attractive introductory price to draw buyers – a tactic also recently adopted by Maruti for the new Swift Dzire – but has still been flooded with orders, despite raising prices when bookings reopened last month. Since the phase-two bookings have exceeded 7,200, the company has decided to use a draw system to ensure an unbiased allocation of cars. The draw will be validated by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India and there are more details on the terms, conditions and the draw process at the XUV500 website – www.mahindraxuv500.com.