Indian automobile manufacture Mahindra & Mahindra plans to enter the Australian market with the launch of the Mahindra XUV500 SUV during the second quarter of 2012. The initial launch would feature the XUV500 powered by a diesel engine with a six-speed manual transmission. The 2.2 liter diesel engine is capable of providing 103kW of power and 330Nm of torque. The company also plans to launch an automatic six-speed variant in the Aussie market by mid 2013.
The new SUV will be offered with both rear wheel drive as well as a four wheel drive. Other features expected in the seven-seater SUV are dual-zone climate control, automatic wipers and headlights, parking sensors and satellite navigation. A standard feature in the SUV range will be six airbags and electronic stability control with rollover mitigation.