Is India the new China? Mahindra coming for everyone from Mazda to Mitsubishi in mainstream push with cut-price vehicles from 'the Detroit of India'

Indian automaker Mahindra might be better known to farmers buying agricultural equipment than it is to urban dwellers in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, but the brand says that is about to change as it pushes into the mainstream space for the first time.

Having just launched the Scorpio (a Ford Everest, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport or Toyota LandCruiser Prado rival) in Australia, the brand says there’s more to come, with new engines, new platforms and a significant investment in electrification.

The Scorpio will be followed by the XUV700 around the middle of this year as a five- or seven-seater to rival models like the Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail.

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That vehicle is available with a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with optional all-wheel drive, expected to be a 147kW/380Nm 2.0-litre petrol unit that’s mated to a six-speed torque-converter automatic.

Like the Scorpio, it too moves the Mahindra story forward into a world of modern cabin technology, but unlike its more rugged sibling, it’s expected to arrive with a full suite of active safety systems.

Both models spearhead Mahindra’s biggest push into Australia to date, and one timed to coincide with a dealership expansion that will see the brand secure a foothold in the nation’s urban capitals for the first time.

While the brand won’t quote numbers, it does say the XUV700 is designed to attract new and more urban customers to the brand — and out of the more established competitors.

“That is a very competitive segment. We are building up our network, and I would like to see real growth and success in the way we acquire new customers,” Mahindra's Vice President of International Operations, Joydeep Moitra, told CarsGuide.

“I’m not putting a market share target in that category as yet, but we believe that the segment size in Australia is around 200,000 vehicles a year, and yes, we want to grab a significant presence in it.

The XUV700 is expected to arrive with a full suite of active safety systems.

“We are confident that the vehicle is very capable.”

Those two models are the start of a new-product offensive for Mahindra, with the “SUV and ute” brand to eventually play in each of Australia’s biggest segments.

“As of now, we want to start with these two, and then we will have some of our other products in India, like a small SUV, coming. But eventually, yes (we will be in every segment),” Moitra says.

Chapter two in the Mahindra plan is all about EVs, with the brand saying it's investing heavily in electrification, though conceding ICE has a long future in Australia yet.

“We have placed our bets on electric, and we believe in the next three to five years this category of vehicles will start seeing significant penetration, and that the price proposition will also become relevant to customers, and therefore we have invested in new manufacturing facilities, product development and design centres,” Moitra said.

“For Australia, we believe ICE will continue to be relevant for some time. But we will have an exciting range of products available on the electric side.”