India's Mahindra prepares 2027 UK launch with bold SUV trio

Indian car-making giant Mahindra is planning to launch in the UK next year with a range of striking electric SUVs designed in Oxfordshire, Autocar has learned. Plans for Mahindra entering the UK market date back to 2016, when the company launched the battery-powered e2o city car and outlined a strategy to build a line-up of pure-electric models in the UK, where its Formula E racing team was already based. The slow-selling e2o was dropped after a matter of months, but Mahindra rekindled plans for a full-scale UK entry in 2022, when it revealed five electric SUVs styled at its newly opened Banbury design studio and confirmed that it was targeting a European rollout a year later when it showed the chunky, Jeep-style Thar.E off-roader concept. Now concrete plans are finally taking shape and Autocar has learned that Mahindra is only around a year away from putting cars in showrooms, with three of its UK-designed electric SUVs lined up to lead its push in the market. Autocar understands that customer clinics have taken place as part of Mahindra's efforts to define its positioning and gauge its commercial potential in the UK. Early pricing information suggests it will pitch its cars at the upper end of the mainstream market, in a similar space to the likes of Cupra and DS. A source familiar with Mahindra's plans told Autocar that one of the brand's first UK cars will be the dramatically styled BE 6 (pictured above) – priced from around £41,000 to face off with the Tesla Model Y, Ford Explorer and Renault Scenic. Based on Mahindra's self-developed Inglo platform for EVs, the BE 6 is offered in India with a choice of 59kWh, 70kWh and 79kWh batteries (the biggest sourced from China's BYD) for a claimed range of between 345 and 424 miles, and a choice of 225bhp and 278bhp rear-mounted motors. Mahindra is understood to be targeting a simple line-up in Europe, with each of its models offered in just one mechanical specification – like Chinese brands Omoda, Jaecoo and Leapmotor – but it remains to be seen which combination of motors and batteries it will export. An undisguised BE 6 prototype has been spotted testing on public roads near Mahindra's Banbury base, suggesting that homologation is under way on UK-spec cars. The larger XEV 9e (below) – a similar size to the BMW iX3 and Audi Q6 – shares the BE 6's platform and drivetrains and is tipped to sit above it at £48,000. Both cars feature a striking, tech-heavy cockpit with a panoramic digital display hosting the driver cluster and a central touchscreen – optionally accompanied by a separate touchscreen for the front passenger. In addition, the smaller SUV can be had with an unusual 'halo' structure around the driver, inspired by Mahindra's Formula E single-seaters. Mahindra has shown an additional, range-topping SUV to its UK focus groups, mooting a starting price of £52,000. This is understood to be a model not yet on sale in India – most likely the BE 07, a chunky mid-sized SUV (shown in concept form below) based on the Inglo platform with a similar footprint to the new Mercedes-Benz GLA. Mahindra didn't comment when approached by Autocar, and it isn't yet known how the firm plans to scale up its retail presence in the UK. COULD INDIA BE THE NEW CHINA? Although India is the world's fourth-biggest producer of cars, the only models it currently sends to the UK are the Suzuki eVitara – built in Ahmedabad by market leader Maruti Suzuki – and its badge-engineered Toyota twin, the Urban Cruiser. But last year India slashed exorbitant import tariffs on UK-built cars from as much as 110% to 30%-50% and it will eventually reduce that to 10%. The slackening of India's fiercely protectionist policies has been touted as an enabler of freer trade between it and the UK, which would have particularly positive implications for the UK's premium car manufacturers. The UK government has reciprocated with a similarly structured approach to reducing import fees on Indian cars, paving the way for Mahindra to finally make good on its long-planned launch in the market – and possibly for further Indian-made cars to come.