Mahindra XUV500 has crossed the 1.5 lakh sales milestone, including the exports. The SUV was launched in September 2011 and within three years the sales crossed 1 lakh mark in August 2014. It took just another year to sell the additional 50,000 units to reach the latest achievement.

Commenting upon the latest development, Pravin Shah, president and chief executive (Automotive), Mahindra said, "This achievement reaffirms the XUV500's immense popularity as it continues to set new standards in its category."

The home-grown SUV was designed in-house at Mahindra's research and development facility, Mahindra Research Valley (MRV) in Chennai. The company claims that the design is inspired by the fastest land animal, the cheetah. It is the first monocoque chassis based vehicle the company has produced.

Mahindra launched the face-lifted version of the SUV on 25 May at a starting price of Rs 11.21 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). In its new avatar, XUV500 facelift got styling changes both inside and outside along with a slew of new features.

"With the launch of the New Age XUV500 in May 2015, we have further pushed the boundaries on the fronts of technology, capability and brand, which has resonated well with our customers," Shah added.

The new XUV500 is powered by the 2.2-litre four-cylinder mHawk diesel mill that generates a power of 140bhp at 3,750 rpm and a peak torque of 330Nm at 1,600-2,800 rpm mated to six-speed manual transmission. The new XUV500 facelift promises a fuel efficiency of 16 kmpl.