Mahindra issues clarification after Scorpio accident kills doctor in UP

Mahindra and Mahindra has issued a clarification after a case was filed against Anand Mahindra, its chairman, and 12 others in the Kanpur accident involving a Scorpio SUV. The family of the victim claimed the SUV did not have airbags which could have saved his life. Three days after the case was filed, Mahindra has issued a statement clarifying if the Scorpio SUV had airbags, and why it did not deploy during the mishap.

One person was killed in the accident which took place on January 14 last year. The victim received the Scorpio SUV as a gift from his father. The SUV hit a divider in foggy condition and overturned when the victim was on his way from Lucknow to Kanpur. The victim was killed on the spot. Later, the family approached Mahindra service centre to find out why airbags did not deploy during the incident despite the victim wearing seatbelt.

According to reports, the family of the victim alleged that the manager at the local service station abused them and even gave death threats after he was confronted with the allegation that the SUV did not have airbags at all. The family had filed an FIR against Mahindra and 12 others in Kanpur in a case of alleged fraud over false assurances on the safety of the SUV.

Mahindra, in its clarification, has denied the charge that the Scorpio SUV did not have airbags installed. The carmaker said that the angle at which the Scorpio SUV crashed was the reason why the airbags could not deploy. The Scorpio SUV was a S9 variant which was bought in 2020 at ₹17.39 lakh. The statement says, “It was alleged that the vehicle did not have airbags. We would hence like to categorically reconfirm that the Scorpio S9 variant manufactured in 2020 did have airbags. We have investigated and there was no malfunction of the airbags. It was a rollover case which would not deploy the frontal airbags."

Mahindra also said that a detailed investigation was conducted by the carmaker in October last year to find out the reason why airbags in the ill-fated Scorpio SUV did not deploy during the Kanpur accident. Mahindra also said, “The matter is currently sub-judice and we are committed to cooperating with the authorities for any further investigation that is required. We completely empathise with the family and offer our deepest condolences to them in their grief."

Watch: Mahindra Scorpio Classic First Drive Review

Mahindra currently does not sell the old version of the Scorpio SUV. Instead, the model has been rebranded as Scorpio Classic after it received a facelift last year. The Scorpio Classic SUV is available in four variants at a starting price of ₹13.25 lakh (ex-showroom). Among safety features, the SUV is offered with at least two airbags for the driver and co-passenger. It also comes with safety features like ABS with EBD, crash sensors and more. The SUV did not score much at the Global NCAP crash tests where it received two-star rating.