Jaguar Land Rover India on Tuesday opened bookings for its first plug-in hybrid in India, the new Defender P400e.

Hybrids are taxed at the highest tax slab of 43 per cent. Most manufacturers, including Mercedes, have bypassed the hybrid route to bring in fully electric cars, which attract a tax rate of 5 per cent.

Combining a two-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a 105 kW electric motor, the P400e develops 297 kW of combined power and 640 Nm of combined torque.

Rohit Suri, president & managing director, Jaguar Land Rover India said, “We are extremely proud to introduce our first Plug-In Hybrid, the New Defender P400e in India, a vehicle that perfectly balances performance with efficiency, while retaining Land Rover’s legendary off-road capability.

Meanwhile, Mahindra & Mahindra on Tuesday announced that effective January 1, 2021, the company will increase the price of its range of passenger and commercial vehicles, across models.

Details of the price increase across different models will be communicated in due course.