The Story Of Mahindra And Their Independence Day Launches

Mahindra is well known for surprising us with the launch of something or the other during Independence Day every year. The carmaker has chosen that date for its major unveils, and now that’s part of their yearly routine. Well, let’s take a look at what Mahindra has surprised us with in the previous Independence Days through this story!

TUV 300 Independence Edition In 2016

On the 70th Independence Day, Mahindra celebrated it with the introduction of a special edition for the TUV 300, a ladder-on-frame SUV that now evolved into what we know as Bolero Neo. The special edition came with a Bronze Green shade that we are familiar with from the defence vehicles used by the Indian Army. With the introduction of this special edition, the carmaker showed its commitment towards the country and celebrated the spirit of freedom! 

Mahindra Thar in 2020

On the 76th Independence Day, Mahindra introduced the second generation of the Thar. With our experience with the first-generation Thar, we felt it was quirky, felt bouncy in ride, lacked safety and was overall a rugged offroader rather than a practical SUV. But with the second-generation Thar, it has evolved, having become a more versatile and comfortable lifestyle SUV, with Mahindra’s core four-wheel drive capability, for which the Thar is known! The Thar was well received in the market and became popular among different segments of buyers, from off-road enthusiasts to long tourers. It was launched in three trims and a total of 10 variants, with a 2-litre turbo-petrol engine and a 2.2-litre diesel engine, both available with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission. 

Mahindra XUV 700 In 2021

After the Thar launch, there was a chain of reveals by Mahindra on and around Independence Day! The next year, the XUV 700 was revealed and was a pretty big deal when it arrived in 2021. Mahindra introduced the SUV globally on the day before the 76th Independence Day. It wasn’t just another replacement for the XUV 500, but was miles ahead of its own standards; Mahindra gave it a global identity. With its modern design, comfort, tech, and features, the introduction of premium features, ADAS integration, and all those made the SUV a premium SUV in its space.  In our experience with the XUV 700, the SUV was apt for the entire family, keeping them comfortable with all the amenities, a premium cabin feel, and ride quality. Early this year, Mahindra updated the premium SUV with changes in design, feature additions and renamed it to XUV 7XO.

INGLO Platform & Born Electric Concepts In 2022

On the 76th Independence Day, Mahindra took a step forward by introducing the INGLO platform for its electric vehicles, marking a remarkable milestone in the carmaker’s EV timeline. The INGLO Platform had the capacity to house either a 60 kWh battery pack or an 80 kWh battery pack. Along with the platform unveil, Mahindra had listed five SUVs that would be made on this platform: the BE.07, BE.05, BE.09, XUV.e9, and XUV.e8, opening a spectrum of opportunities for the Born-electric mobility future of Mahindra. These concepts eventually transitioned into production vehicles: the XEV 9S, XEV 9E, and BE 6, which became key drivers of growth for Mahindra's EV lineup. 

Global Pik Up & Vision Thar.e In 2023

On the 77th Independence Day, Mahindra unveiled the Global Pik Up truck concept and the Thar.e Concept in the carmaker’s event in South Africa. This event proved the brand’s fast-paced growth for the global markets, opening a gateway by creating global standards with the introduced concepts. The Global Pik Up carried similar design cues to the Scorpio N but with more ruggedness and adventure-boasting character. Having said that, Mahindra already had a very popular pickup truck model, the Scorpio Getaway, and even the current Scorpio Classic gets a pickup truck version sold in the international markets.

The Vision Thar.e, on the other hand, had a 5-door layout with a closed-off grille design, with the Thar.e illuminated logo embossed in it. The Thar.e is based on a customised INGLO P1 platform, which would give the electric SUV the advantage of an increased wheelbase, compared to the ICE counterpart.

Mahindra Thar Roxx In 2024

On the 78th Independence Day, Mahindra unveiled the Thar Roxx that came in a 5-door avatar. The SUV came with the extreme off-road capabilities that the 3-door Thar had, but came with a more practical configuration that made it suitable for a wider range of audience by providing more features like two 10.25-inch displays, a touchscreen infotainment screen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a fully digital instrument cluster, a panoramic sunroof, automatic climate control, a wireless charger and keyless entry with a push-button start/stop function. The Thar Roxx was well received in the Indian market, as it offered the lifestyle appeal and ruggedness of the Thar and the practicality of a family SUV. 

NU_IQ Concepts In 2025

On the 79th Independence Day, Mahindra made another milestone unveiled, introducing its new monocoque platform that opens a gate for a wide spectrum of models and powertrain opportunities for the Carmaker. This platform will underpin SUVs like  Vision S, Vision X, Vision T and Vision SXT. Mahindra claims that the architecture is capable of achieving a 5-star rating in Global NCAP and Euro NCAP. The most interesting part relevant today is that one of the most anticipated, the Vision S near-production version, is also expected to be showcased on this Independence Day. As the SUV was spotted testing multiple times, we expect the SUV to be launched sometime by the end of this year or early next year. 

What Do We Expect In 2026?

Now, Mahindra has confirmed to launch the Scorpio N-based pickup truck on August 14, just the day before Independence Day, and the SUV has been teased, and the anticipation is really high at the moment! 

So what all to expect? Well, the Scorpio N Pickup is expected to carry the Scorpio N’s features list, such as a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless phone charger, ventilated front seats and a 12-speaker Sony sound system, which we loved in our experience during our long test drives.  As the Scorpio N achieved a 5-star safety rating in Global NCAP, the pickup is also expected to carry that glory. Other expected safety features include 6 airbags, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), and a 540-degree camera, front and rear parking sensors, hill descent control (HDC) and all-wheel disc brakes.-wheel disc brakes. Speaking about the powertrain, it would carry the same 2-litre turbo-petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engine options as the Scorpio N Facelift. 

Mahindra has also teased the BE 6 SPORTEQ with tan interiors and a triple-screen setup and an updated version of the BE 6 Formula E Edition, which are expected to launch on August 15. To know more about these SUVs, we will have to wait for the official event.

CarDekho Says…

The Independence Day window holds immense significance for Mahindra, serving as the stage where the automaker traditionally unveils its defining SUV models. The Thar, INGLO Platform, XUV 700, and the Thar Roxx were successful models and showed us how an Indian manufacturer can provide global products with high features and standards! We anticipate that Mahindra would also showcase a near-production version of the Vision S on the 15th, exactly on Independence Day. Until then, we will have to wait till the official event to see what else the brand has in store backstage!

Stay tuned to CarDekho to know more! Let us know in the comments section which vehicle you are excited about!