M&M joins small car race with Verito Vibe

Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra on Wednesday entered the compact-car segment with a chopped-down version of the only sedan in its stable, the Verito that it interited from its short-lived partnership with French car maker Renault.

The sub-4 metre Verito Vibe, pitched against Maruti's Swift and Swift DZire, Honda Amaze and Toyota Liva, is priced at ₹ 5.6 lakh-₹ 6.49 lakh. The 1.5-litre diesel engine returns a mileage of 20.8 km per litre, the firm claims.

M&M says the Vibe costs ₹ 40,000 less than Swift and ₹ 1.5 lakh less than Amaze. The Swift DZire is the segment leader.

'We will launch one more product on the Verito platform,' said Pawan Goenka, president, automotive and farm equipment sector, M&M.

'Other than that we do not have any specific plan to get into car business.'

The Vibe is the third car in M&M's portfolio, behind the Verito and the electric car E20, formerly Reva.