Mahindra is making changes to its line-up to ensure new versions of its current cars, as well as fresh models, will meet the incoming 2026 protocols set by ANCAP.
Future models from Indian car maker Mahindra will be designed to meet strict new safety criteria coming in from next year, the car maker has said, after its Scorpio 4WD was slapped with a zero-star rating nearly two years ago.
But it will not include the initial batch of XUV 3XO city SUVs, which Mahindra says it has no plans to submit for ANCAP safety testing – and will go unrated unless the crash tester purchases some for itself – until upgrades are applied to the model next year.
Mahindra executives told Australian media that future models – whether ground-up new cars, or facelifts of its existing fleet – are being engineered to media the next iteration of ANCAP's test protocols, due in 2026.
These will be more stringent than what is in place today, and will last until 2028, when they will be superseded again.
However, this means that, in its current form, Mahindra says it has no plans to submit the XUV 3XO for testing, as it misses features such as a front-centre airbag that tends to form a key pillar of a five-star score.
It does not preclude ANCAP from purchasing a batch of XUV 3XOs to crash test itself in the meantime – something the safety organisation has done in the past, including with the soon-to-be-upgraded Scorpio.
"As with all new vehicles entering the Australian and New Zealand markets, the Mahindra XUV 3XO is a potential candidate for future ANCAP assessment," ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said in a written statement to Drive.
"Consumers should be aware that – until independent safety testing is undertaken – the safety performance of any new model arriving in our market is unknown."
Mahindra said it is “making adjustments” to its current and future models to meet the 2026 requirements, so it claims there would be no point in engineering and testing the 3XO to meet today's rules.
“We actually need to make a few adjustments to the vehicle to meet the new protocol, and given it's not very far away, there's no point in launching a vehicle with the testing and spending a whole bunch of money on the current standard when it's changing in six months’ time,” a spokesperson said.
Mahindra declined to detail what changes would actually be required to meet the current standards.
However, it claims that because 45 per cent of the XUV 3XO is made from ultra-high-grade steel produced by the wider Mahindra group, it would – according to the company – be too strong to meet ANCAP deformation requirements.
“It’s very important for us to be up to date, really trying to keep up with the speed [of change] is a challenge by itself,” added Head of International Operations, Sachin Arolkar.
“That's the reason why we are holding back certain things and saying that let's work with the 2026 norms.”
From 2026, ANCAP’s testing will focus on the user-friendliness of a car’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), driver monitoring, cybersecurity, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-load technology, as well as exploring the impact of thermal runaway in electric cars.
Arolkar told Drive that having a five-star ANCAP rating for its vehicles was important going forward, so it can be more competitive with its rivals.
Its XUV700 medium-sized SUV is currently unrated, and its Scorpio off-roader was given a zero-star rating in 2023 because it lacked autonomous emergency braking (AEB), among other safety systems.
“We definitely want to be there with the five-star, but as I say, we are taking it one step at a time,” Arolkar said.
“Safety is absolutely critical for us. No country, I believe, would allow an unsafe [new] car to even be sold, even imported, for that matter. We offer over and above what are the regulatory norms [ADR].”
A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
