New Mahindra dual-cab ute in development

An all-new Mahindra dual-cab ute is in the early stages of development with the Indian manufacturer all but confirming it will be based on the same heavy-duty 'ladder-frame' chassis underpinning the recently-launched Scorpio SUV.

Drive spotted what appeared to be a camouflaged development vehicle during a recent visit to Mahindra’s proving ground near Chennai in India earlier this month. The vehicle appeared to be new Scorpio with a tray grafted onto the back.

When asked if a new dual-cab ute remained on the cards, Mahindra’s president for automotive technology and product development, R. ‘Velu’ Velusamy told assembled Australian media: “We have an idea of what to do. We are developing it. It is taking time. We have just launched the Scorpio N and we are stabilising the product and stabilising launching in various markets.”

The current generation Mahindra Pik-Up has been on sale in Australia since 2007. It’s based on the previous-generation Mahindra Scorpio which has never been available in Australia.

While any technical details of Mahindra’s Pik-Up replacement remain speculative, the new Scorpio is powered by a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel making 129kW and 400Nm. Power is sent to all four wheels via an Aisin-sourced six-speed automatic with an automatically locking rear-differential and off-road driving modes.

If previous timing for the launch of a Pik-Up is any indication, a new generation won’t be revealed for another three to four years. The first generation Pik-Up, known as the Getaway in its domestic Indian market, was launched in 2006, four years after the Scorpio’s debut in 2002.

Similarly, the most recent facelift, launched in Australia in 2018, came four years after the Scorpio underwent a facelift in India.

Joydeep Moitra, the regional head of Mahindra Automotive told assembled Australian media in India that any Scorpio-based Pik-Up replacement remained in the distant future, the manufacturer continuing to focus its efforts and resources on its expanding SUV portfolio.

“We have to be sure [we focus on] SUVs first, and then we take another leap [with the Pik-Up] because there is too much for us to chew right now. We have certain plans at work but we [have] not concretised [them].”