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One of the cheapest four-wheel-drives on sale – the Mahindra Scorpio from India – will be pulled from factory orders until crash-avoidance technology meant to be in showrooms by now is developed.
The Mahindra Scorpio four-wheel-drive will go on a factory-order hiatus for the foreseeable future as a promised update adding autonomous emergency braking (AEB) technology – which was meant to be in showrooms by now – is yet to materialise.
In the meantime, Mahindra has snuck in a batch of new seven-seat versions into showrooms before the Scorpio becomes illegal to certify for road use in Australia next month.
Also axed are the Suzuki Swift Sport and Ignis, while the S-Cross, Vitara, three-door Jimny have gone on hiatus until either an updated model arrives with the technology, or a safety upgrade is introduced for the current version.
It is the second safety deadline the Indian car maker has scraped past in two years, after exploiting a loophole in 2023 to launch the Scorpio weeks after AEB became mandatory for newly-introduced vehicles.
Mahindra says AEB technology is still planned for its flagship SUV, but a timeline has not been specified – and it will be sold from dealer stock until then.
The same safety regulation will axe one of Mahindra's other two models, the Pik-Up, and will leave the car-derived XUV700 as its only new car still in production for local showrooms.
AEB – which slams the brakes if the vehicle detects an imminent rear-end collision – became mandatory for new vehicles introduced from March 2023, and for all new vehicles from March 2025.
The Scorpio has been legal for sale locally as Mahindra filed approval documents with the Federal Government before the March 2023 deadline, even though it did not go on sale until April of that year.
From 1 March 2025, vehicles without AEB will no longer be able to be 'complied', meaning the legal stamp of approval certifying they meet Australian Design Rules – though they can continue to be sold after that date.
However, it has not arrived in time, and Mahindra will only be able to sell the vehicle from dealer stock complied before March until the feature is added.
The flagship Z8L grade has just added a seven-seat configuration as standard – rather than the six seats of all models previously, something which remains in the base Z8 – accompanied by a $1000 price rise to $46,990 drive-away.
It has been revealed all examples of the seven-seater were built in December 2024, so they could be shipped to Australia and complied in time for the March deadline.
A spokesperson for Mahindra Australia said the company has sufficient stock for the time being of the entry-level Z8, as well as the seven-seat Z8L – with six-seat Z8L supply running low.
Customer demand will determine how long those stockpiles of vehicles last.
The lack of any crash-avoidance technology saw the Mahindra Scorpio handed a zero-star rating in ANCAP safety testing in late 2023.
Even if it was equipped with a full suite of driver-assistance systems, the Scorpio's score in the adult occupant protection category would have limited it to just one star.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
