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Mahindra XUV 500 soon in Australia, petrol and AT variants in the making

The World class SUV Mahindra XUV 500 will hit the roads in Australia soon. Mahindra & Mahindra will launch XUV500 in the Australian market in two variants – W6 and W8. Since Mahindra is India's leading producer of utility vehicles, it has already launched XUV 500 in the Indian market last year. Now, the company is going to capture international market by the launch of this SUV. Apart from Australia, Mahindra has plans to roll out XUV500 in Europe next year but it will hit the Australia market soon within a few weeks time, industry sources said.

Among the two variants XUV 500 W6 and W8, it will be W6 variant will be made available in lesser price than W8. The W6 will come with safety gadget and satellite navigation. W8 will also have satellite navigation, all wheel drive and also there is a system in W8 which measures tyre-pressure. For safety, the car is well equipped with safety gadgets including anti-lock braking and airbags. The standard of safety in both W6 and W8 are quite high. The media reports suggest that Mahindra hopes that it will be awarded 4-star rating for safety as the result of Australian New Car Assessment Program is yet to be revealed. XUV 500 W6 and W8 will come with 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine. The engine produces 140 bhp. The level of torque will be 330 Nm.

Mahindra will make its debut in the Australian market with XUV 500. It will face tough competition from established models like Honda CR-V, Holden Captiva and Hyundai Santa Fe. Mahindra has roped in 26 dealers in Australia which will offer W6 and W8 variants of XUV 500 in Australia. Since, XUV 500 is available in diesel engine, Mahindra is planning to launch XUV500 with petrol engine as in the US, petrol is cheaper than diesel. Similarly, it may launch XUV 500 with petrol engine in Australia too soon, the sources further added.