Mahindra micro hybrid Scorpio and Bolero with FuelSmart system launched

Mahindra has just announced the launch of its Mahindra Scorpio M2DI and Bolero SLX BS3 sport utility vehicles for the Indian market.

A micro hybrid is not a full hybrid – but in India, it is a pathbreaking technology. A full hybrid switches between petrol engine and an electric motor while driving. A micro hybrid engine, on the other hand, switches off the engine when the vehicle is in neutral gear and restarts it seamlessly when the the vehicle is shifted out of neutral gear.

In heavy traffic in a city, the micro hybrid technology can save a substantial amount of fuel for the Scorpio and the Bolero which used the FuelSmart technology.

The price of the FuelSmart system equipped Mahindra Scorpio and Bolero would be between Rs 6.5 and 6.95 lakh. We think there is some confusion there though – the price of the Scorpio Micro Hybrid Fuel Smart, we expect cannot be as low as that. We are waiting for confirmation of the price from Mahindra.

Mahindra says that the Micro Hybrid system, developed with Bosch support, would be able to save some 5 per cent fuel in the Scorpio M2DI and Bolero SLX BS3 models.

The Micro Hybrid FuelSmart enabled Scorpio and Bolero shuts down the engine when the vehicle is stationary while in neutral gear or idle after waiting ten seconds. When the vehicle has to move, just depress the clutch pedal again, and the engine would seamlessly restart.

How efficiently Mahindra has implemented the Bosch system in the Scorpio and Bolero remains to be seen.

Mahindra has said that after the introduction of the micro hybrid FuelSmart system in the Scorpio and the Bolero, the technology would soon its way to the company’s other vehicles too.

As we know, Mahindra has been working on a full hybrid Scorpio for a while – the hybrid Mahindra Scorpio was displayed at the Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi. The full hybrid Scorpio is expected in the market earliest by 2010.

The cost of the micro hybrid system in the Scorpio and Bolero would only add Rs 3800 to the two Mahindra vehicles.

Vehicles at a stop light emit a lot of carbon dioxide; as the micro hybrid system shuts off the engine, there are no pollutants released into the atmosphere when the vehicle is at a standstill. In india, environmental issues have hardly been a concern for car buyers; but that is an added benefit.

The best part is that the launch of the micro hybrid Scorpio and Bolero would clear the way for other manufacturers to introduce such technologies. There is the so-called starting trouble when introducing anything unfamiliar, and Mahindra has done a great job in introducing the concept of hybrid vehicles to India. Hopefully, the FuelSmart micro hybrid Scorpio and Bolero would speed up introduction of Mahindra’s own full hybrid, as well as force other manufacturers to go ahead with their hybrid plans for India too.

Currently, India has only a single hybrid car – the Honda Civic hybrid – though Toyota Prius hybrid is believed to be on the way sometime in the future.