Mahindra & Mahindra announced the launch of its mHawk new 1.99 litre diesel engine, which could help the company overcome the impact of a recent Supreme Court decision on diesel car sales.
The Supreme Court had, a month ago, banned the sale of cars and SUVs with engines bigger than 2 liters (2000 cc). Most of Mahindra’s SUVs come with engines with capacities of over 2 liters.
The new 1.99 liter engine would power the New Generation Scorpio as well as the New Age XUV500, the company — which is India’s biggest SUV brand — said.
Cars fitted with the smaller engine would be available for customers within the Delhi and NCR Region to begin with, it added.
The new 1.99 litre engine will power the New Generation Scorpio and will deliver 120 HP while for the New Age XUV500, it will deliver 140 HP.
Speaking on this occasion, Pravin Shah, President & Chief Executive (Automotive), Mahindra & Mahindra said, “This new engine, the development of which started in August 2014, is now ready for launch on both the New Generation Scorpio and the New Age XUV500. We do hope that our customers would enjoy driving these vehicles which deliver the performance of our currently on offer 2.2 litre mHawk engines”.
The Supreme Court took the decision in an effort to bring down pollution. Diesel engines are considered to be a key reason why Delhi’s particulate matter (fine dust) levels remain in the hazardous territory through the winter season.
Mahindra had estimated that the SC decision would impact about 2% of the Company’s total monthly sales.