Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday launched the five-door Thar, christening it the Thar Roxx at a price range of ₹12.99 lakh and ₹18.99 lakh. Bookings for the car will open from October 3 with deliveries scheduled for Dussehra.

Built on a new platform called M_Glyde, the Thar Roxx is a body-on-frame SUV longer than the three-door version.

Veejay Nakra, president – automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “With the Thar Roxx, we are setting our sights on making the Thar brand the No. 1 SUV in the less than ₹12.5 lakh segment by volume within the next 3 to 5 years.

Engine options include the petrol G20 TGDI mStallion and diesel D22 mHawk engines, delivering a torque of 380 Nm and 370 Nm, respectively.

The company is offering a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed AISIN torque converter automatic.

Addressing the press conference, Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director at Mahindra and Mahindra, said: “About 50 per cent of the SUV sales is in the ₹12.5 lakh and above category. The less than ₹12.5 lakh category comprises 45 per cent of the market and Mahindra has 27 per cent market share there.

“In this segment, Scorpio is the number one brand and XUV 700 is in the fifth position. With the Thar brand, which includes the three-door and the Thar Roxx, we want to take the leadership position in the next three to five years.”

Designed at the Mahindra India Design Studio in Mumbai, engineered at the Mahindra Research Valley near Chennai, and developed and tested at the Mahindra SUV Proving Track, the Thar Roxx is built at Mahindra’s advanced facility in Nasik.

R. Velusamy, president, automotive technology and product development, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “Thar Roxx represents a new era of refined body-on-frame SUVs, built on our all-new M_GLYDE platform. This cutting-edge platform enables us to deliver the refined sophistication typically found in monocoque SUVs such as the XUV700 with tech-enabled off-road capabilities.”