What makes Thar the star

After nearly a decade of failures and stagnant growth, Mahindra began what can be best described as an onslaught of class leading, innovative products such as the XUV 700, Scorpio N and XUV 400, resulting in 2023 being its highest-ever sales year.

Many will argue that all this began with the Thar — specifically the second gen. Incidentally, Thar is not the highest-selling product in the portfolio — it averages about 5,000 units a month, paltry compared to the nearly 12,000 for Scorpio, but has possibly been the biggest influencer on brand performance and affinity.

The rise of the Thar from being a niche, limited-appeal product to one of the most beloved SUVs in the country is commendable, but also one of how a product can catapult in stature if the right factors are present in the market.

Competitive landscape

First launched in 2010, Thar was seen as reliable and resilient, but it was not the choice for a daily commute. Hence, it was confined to hardcore off-roaders and was largely a second vehicle. The second gen 2020 model significantly changed this. Be it design, comfort or features — it built on its reputation as an off-roader with the ability to be a daily drive or the first car you purchase, and to have street creds and presence on the road like no other.

These changes resonated with the market immensely and the numbers reflect this. The first gen sold 60,000 units over nine years; the second gen is close to touching 2 lakh in just four years, with about 55 per cent of initial bookings received as first-time auto buyers.

Coupled with this is the fact that there was essentially no competition to the Thar. Production of the Maruti Gypsy for civilians stopped in March 2019. Force Motors had the Gurkha, but the lack of brand awareness, dealerships and service centres ensured it could not compete. The Jeep Meridian was a segment above.

The Jimny arrived in 2023, the most direct competitor, but failed to make a dent. The Thar nevertheless lost to many in the SUV segment such as Kia, MG and Hyundai, but this comparison is not entirely fair as these SUVs were city drives and not offering what the Thar did in off-road capability. Yes, it can be argued that not every buyer bought the Thar 4X4, but this is where changing market dynamics and cultural influences played a larger role.

Changing dynamics

When the Thar arrived in late 2020, the market welcomed it with open arms. A significant change had been making waves in the market, with SUVs being the preferred vehicle type as opposed to hatchbacks or sedans a few years ago.

About a third of first-time car buyers now drive home an SUV, and about half the cars sold in the market today are SUVs. This owes itself to a combination of factors such as having more road presence, affordability, manufacture focus and city nuances (monsoon flooding, for example).

This mix between the new model and the changed market dynamics allowed it to have mass appeal, resulting in an uplift of sales. It organically made the Thar even more relevant in city life.

Cultural influences

The pandemic brought along many changes within society and people. When it was finally over, we were left with things such as ‘revenge tourism, ‘the great resignation’, ‘quality of life’, WFH, etc. What it also did was increase the consumption of online content.

What we stumble across quite commonly now on platforms such as YouTube really exploded over 2021-2022: off-roading, overlanding, camping, expeditions, solo drives. These helped the environment surrounding the Thar. The need or desire to do something ‘off-beat’, which allows one to experience unhinged freedom, has never been greater. And the starting point for many in this journey is a Thar.

Off-roading was always associated with the Thar, but all these factors increased the use cases for the Thar. Many also buy the car to simply associate themselves with this lifestyle while in reality being completely away from it.

The aftermarket is helping as well — rooftop tents, portable stoves, toilets, catalogues upon catalogues of modification gear. We have a new species of travellers emerging who use the car as their accommodation, forfeiting hotels and hostels.

The Thar has truly become a symbol of exploration, as much as it is an item one tends to show off. There is little stopping other SUVs chasing this, but the umbrella effect that even the basic models of the Thar enjoy by having a genuine 4X4 lineage is not easy to beat.

Mahindra recognises that the Thar is not perfect and for them to truly dominate this segment, they need to cover more ground — hence, the Thar Roxx. It will attempt to fill more gaps and incrementally increase features as well as creature comforts to bolster appeal for all buyers. Experts predict that the Roxx could see bookings of 50,000 on Day 1.