The Mahindra Scorpio-N proved to be quite a hit in its home market in India, as the first 25,000 units were sold out in less than a minute, causing the website to crash and leaving many prospective buyers out of the initial batch.
The Scorpio-N, which the company calls “the big daddy of SUVs“, is a body-on-frame SUV set to replace the aging Scorpio with modern styling and tech. The model which is available in petrol and diesel guises with optional 4WD was announced last May, with the official debut following in June.
Mahindra said that the initial 25,000 units of the Scorpio-N would be priced between ₹11.99 lakh ($15,178) and ₹19.49 lakh ($24,673) depending on the variant, but prices are set to rise for subsequent orders. This created a rush among prospective buyers who watched the countdown on the official website hoping to book an early slot.
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When the system started accepting orders on July 30, the traffic was so high that in 55 seconds, the initial batch of 25,000 units was gone. Many people went on social media to complain about Mahindra’s website crashing, which didn’t allow them to complete their order on time by placing a deposit. Still, the company managed to collect more than 100,000 orders in the first 30 minutes. Each booking included a deposit of Rs 18,000 ($227) which translates to a total of $22.7 million generated in half an hour!
Mahindra has publicly acknowledged the technical glitch and assured everyone that the online system has recorded time stamps of when each user pressed the payment button. Thus, it is easy to identify the first 25,000 customers who will get access to the promotional pricing for their Scorpio-N.
As reported by Autocar India, Mahindra will contact each buyer in order to confirm their order. Also, customers will have the chance to change their mind about the selected trim and specification of their Scorpio-N until August 15, when their selection will be locked, providing them with an estimated delivery date. Deliveries of the Scoprio-N are scheduled to start on September 26, with Mahindra targeting the production of more than 20,000 units by December.
