Mahindra XUV500 sets a new record in the Limca Book of Records
Achieves rare feat of completing the journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in the shortest time
November 20, 2013, Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd.), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, announced that its popular global SUV, the XUV500 has recorded the rare feat of completing a journey of 3,997 kilometres from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in the shortest time. With this, the XUV500 has set a new record in the Limca Book of Records.
A four-member team from Standard Chartered Bank, comprising of Zuzur Tinwalla (leader), Jyoti P Bhattacharjee, Anshuman Kakar and Neeraj Rastogi, completed the 3,997km drive from Kanyakumari to Leh in just 62 hours 20 minutes. Having surpassed the previous record by a margin of 10 hr 27 min, the XUV500 set a new record under the category of Fastest South-North Four-wheeler Expediton in the Limca Book of Records. The journey started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 30, 2013 and reached Leh in Jammu & Kashmir on October 3, 2013, having traversed the entire length of the country.
Speaking on this achievement, Mr. Vivek Nayer, Chief Marketing Officer, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd. said, “It is a proud moment for us since this record further reaffirms the tough and rugged 'Mahindra DNA' of the XUV500, which is a popular and much admired brand. Since its launch in 2011, the cheetah-inspired XUV500 has carved a special niche for itself and proved its mettle through tough and gruelling conditions in several rallies. This time was no exception. Completing a journey of 3997 kms in just 62 hours is a clear validation of the XUV500’s capability of handling all kinds of terrain while maintaining power-packed-performance. The team completed the journey with utmost safety and without a single incidence of breakdown. It is also testimony to the spirit of adventure of the XUV500 as well as the people who drive it so passionately. Unmatched in terms of style, performance, safety and comfort thereby providing a complete driving experience, the XUV500 has reached new heights with this achievement.”
About XUV500
The XUV500 with 74,000+ vehicles on Indian roads, was designed entirely in-house at Mahindra’s world class research and development facility called Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai, and has, since launch in end- September 2011, set a benchmark of its own. Today, the XUV500 enjoys a market share of 41% in the high-end SUV segment. Having received a phenomenal response in India, the XUV500 has also made its mark in countries like Australia, South Africa and now in Italy as well. The company has recently introduced the W4 model of the XUV500 to meet rising demand. In addition, the W6, W8 and the All Wheel Drive (AWD) models of the XUV500 are also available.
The XUV500 has already notched up prestigious wins in rallies like Desert Storm, Desert Dash & Dakshin Dare in the Extreme category. The Dakshin Dare victory marked a triumph for the XUV500, when it became the first diesel SUV to win an Extreme category in the history of Indian rallying.
The exceptional interest in the XUV500 is substantiated by the 1.4 million+ visitors to the XUV500 website during the last year and the large fan following of more than 13 lacs on Facebook.
Awards and Accolades
The XUV500 has received a tremendous response from customers and reviewers alike and has been the most awarded car in its first year, with 22 awards from auto experts and numerous other recognitions for the brand. The XUV500 was rated the 5th best launch of 2011 across all categories by Business Standard Strategist. In 2011, the XUV500 was the third most searched auto brand on Google India. It has also been rated the most reputed auto brand in the Reputation Benchmark Study conducted by Bluebytes with a 74% lead over the 2nd most reputed car brand. The XUV500 launch digital campaign was included amongst the Top 5 digital campaigns of 2011 by exchange4media.com. Yahoo India also acknowledged XUV500 as a path-breaker among the top 10 car launches of 2011.
Some of the awards and accolades received from auto experts include the prestigious ‘Car of the Year’, ‘SUV of the Year’ and ‘Viewers’ Choice Car of the Year’ by ET – Zigwheels Awards 2011. It has also received laurels like ‘SUV of the Year’, ‘Readers Choice Award’ and ‘Best Value for Money Car’ from Top Gear Magazine Awards 2011, ‘SUV of the Year’ and ‘Viewers Choice Car of the Year’ awards from CNBC TV18–Overdrive Awards 2012 and ‘SUV of the Year’ from NDTV Car & Bike Awards 2012 and Business Standard Motoring 2012 Awards.
The XUV500 was also declared the ‘SUV of the Year’, ‘Best Value for Money Car of the Year’ and ‘Viewers’ Choice SUV of the Year’ at the Bloomberg UTV Autocar India Awards. It also received the ‘SUV of the Year Award 2011-2012’ from Top Gear Malayalam and two Golden Steering Wheel Awards 2012 from Auto Bild India in two categories - ‘SUV/UV 2011 Award’ and the ‘Viewer's Choice Award’ - where the viewers of Headlines Today and Aaj Tak polled for their favourite set of hot wheels. It also received the ‘SUV of the Year’ award from Car India Awards 2012. Acclaimed bloggers like TeamBHP, Vicky.in, Motor Vikatan, Auto Junction and MotorBeam also awarded the XUV500 with ‘Car of the Year / SUV of the Year’ titles. XUV500 topped in SUV segment in the TNS Automotive Total Customer Satisfaction Study 2012.
More recently in 2013, the XUV500 was declared ‘Most popular SUV of the year-2012’ by CarDekho.com and was also awarded by India Design Mark Awards 2013. It was also adjudged ‘Buzzy Brand’ in the Pitch Brand Awards 2013. Further the XUV500 was also awarded ‘Master Brand Award’ by CMO Asia in the World Brand Council 2013.
About Mahindra
The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that power mobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increase business efficiency.
A USD 16.2 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employs more than 155,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, financial services, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two wheeler industries.
In 2012, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000 list, a listing of the biggest and most powerful listed companies in the world. In 2013, the Mahindra Group received the Financial Times ‘Boldness in Business’ Award in the ‘Emerging Markets’ category.
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