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MUMBAI: <keyword id="45224" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mahindra">Mahindra</keyword> &amp; Mahindra is lining up three major offerings in the compact sport-utility-vehicle segment for launch over the next 18-24 months, as it aims to reclaim space lost to the Ford EcoSport and <keyword id="43777" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Renault">Renault</keyword> Duster over the past couple of years.<br />
<br /> All the three vehicles will be less than four metres long, a segment that industry experts say is going to be a key driver of passenger vehicle sales and where <keyword id="46869" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="MM">M&amp;M</keyword> has only a limited presence. Mahindra is still the local leader in utility vehicle sales, but its market share has fallen to 42% at the end of the fiscal year through March 2014 from more than 55% two years earlier.<br />
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Renault meanwhile has grabbed about 9% of the market with the Duster, and Ford captured 8.68% with its sub-4-metre EcoSport. M&amp;M’s first compact SUV, the Quanto that failed to sustain the initial excitement, is getting ready for a major midlife facelift, said people with knowledge of the matter.<br />
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The project, codenamed U215, includes major design changes which are currently being worked on at M&amp;M’s design centre in Italy. The U215 will be positioned between the other two vehicles in the pipeline — M&amp;M's first micro-SUV, dubbed S101, which will create a new entry point for the company and be pitted as an alternative to premium hatchbacks, and the probable Bolero replacement, codenamed U301.<br />
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The U301 may co-exist with the Bolero, a vehicle that still has acceptance in the hinterlands. M&amp;M intends to do a Maruti in the compact SUV space, offering an alternative at every Rs 50,000-75,000 price points over the entry-level vehicle, a person close to the company told ETon condition of anonymity.<br />
"All three sub-4 metre SUVs will have different characteristics catering to different segment of buyers. Design will be the key differentiator. The S101 compact SUV has a car-like appearance whereas the U215, the new Quanto, will assume a more rugged appearance than the boxy stance it had when launched," this person said.<br />
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According to him, the U301 will have the boldest features with a “Jeep Wrangler-like appearance”. An M&amp;M spokesman said the company cannot comment on specific product plans.<br />
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"As a general rule, we constantly work on refreshing all our products," he said. The MPV/SUV segment, which makes up for 22%-23% of the overall Indian passenger vehicle sales, is expected to grow in coming years. Industry experts say, the compact SUV market is expected to grow five times to make up almost half a million vehicle at the end of the decade and that the sub-4-meter space is expected to make up for a sizeable share of that. M&amp;M has a strong band of loyal buyers and larger penetration in rural areas, but developing a sub-4-meter vehicle is extremely critical for it to regain its lost market share, said Gaurav Vangaal, senior analyst, forecasting, at consultancy firm IHS Automotive.<br />
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The urban sub-compact SUV segment, which did not exist a few years back, is expected to make up for a sizable 20-25% of compact UV space going ahead, he said. "M&amp;M is there with its Quanto, but not with a proper sub-4-metre SUV, so it needs to prepare itself aggressively with more UVs in that space to protect its turf."<br />
<br /> Pawan Goenka, president and executive director at Mahindra, has admitted in the past that the company wasn't quick enough to react to the compact SUV wave and that its answer to compact utility-vehicle space has been a year or two late. It seems the lineup of compact SUVs planned by the company is to not just take on existing rivals, but also react proactively to ensuing competition from the likes of Maruti <keyword id="6911" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="suzuki">Suzuki</keyword> and the local units of <keyword id="70910" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hyundai-motor">Hyundai Motor</keyword> and <keyword id="72707" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Honda-Motor">Honda Motor</keyword>, who too have lined up sub-4-meter SUVs for launch in the coming two-three years.<br />
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The person close to the company said the face-lifted Quanto will in fact be an interim model for M&amp;M and has a potential of 24,000 units a year, before an all-new Quanto, now dubbed U321, hits the market in 2017.<br />
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The U321 is currently getting developed in the US and it will be a versatile platform that can deliver multiple products, from sub-4-metre to bigger 7-seat utility vehicles.<br />
<br />
While M&amp;M has seen its bread-andbutter utility vehicles Scorpio and Bolero as well as the XUV 500 selling in healthy numbers, its 'U platform' vehicles – the Quanto, Xylo and Genio – have been a major drag for it. It does not quite end there for M&amp;M. Its R&amp;D centres in India, the US and Italy are buzzing with projects. A face-lifted Scorpio and XUV should hit the market shortly.<br />
<br />
It plans to revamp lifestyle offroader Thar, which now gets an underpinning of the U platform, a departure from the legendary MM540 base due to upcoming safety regulations. And, pickup truck Genio will be significantly enhanced in its upcoming facelift to take more abuses, which is very common in the Indian market.<br />
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M&M Lines Up Compact SUVs To Take On Ford EcoSport And Renault Duster

The preference of customers has changed, thanks to introduction of <keyword id="1133722" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Compact-SUVs">compact SUVs</keyword>, equipped with better dynamics and drivability.<br />
<br />
The compact SUVs, which are priced almost at the same level of sedans, have changed the trend and now have become a preference among most of the car buyers.<br />
<br />
This has also triggered a competition as now utility segment accounts for one in every four passenger vehicles sold.<br />
<br /> One of the quick adapters of this trend was <keyword id="44883" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maruti-Suzuki">Maruti Suzuki</keyword>, which has grabbed a significant market share, giving tough competition to Mahindra &amp; Mahindra based on sales in the first seven months of this fiscal year.<br />
<br />
Since last three months, Maruti is emerging as the winner in the utility segment.<br />
<br />
As per the reports, sales of utility vehicles went up around 37% to 4,44,048 units between April and October, compared with 3,24,460 units a year earlier when the segment accounted for one in five passenger vehicles sold in the Indian market.<br />
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"The future of compact SUV is very bright, I expect the trend to continue. For OEMs (automakers) to be relevant in this segment, regular launches with better features are the keys to succeed," Abdul Majeed, automobile expert and partner at Price Waterhouse, told ET.<br />
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Mahindra, which was the leader in the utility segment, seems to be withering as its market share slipped to 30% from 36% in the April-October period, even as Maruti increased its share to 25% from 14%, helped primarily by the success of the Vitara Brezza. Mahindra's new products the like TUV300 and KUV100 did not do that well.<br />
<br /> "Interestingly, passenger car OEMs like Maruti and <keyword id="596" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hyundai">Hyundai</keyword> are able to gain strong footing in the UV segment due to changing preference towards compact UVs. Whereas, traditional UV OEMs like <keyword id="42747" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Motors">Tata Motors</keyword> and M&amp;M, having presence in chassis built rugged UVs, witnessed market erosion due to relative underperformance of the larger UV segment. Thanks to strong response to compact UVs, the share of petrol vehicle is likely to increase in the medium term," Subrata Ray, senior group vice president at ratings firm ICRA, told ET.

People are buying more utility vehicles than compact. Here’s why

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Business Insider/Danielle Muoio</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong>The Toyota RAV4 is the second best-selling compact SUV in the US.</strong></li><li><strong>The Chevy Equinox recently got an upgrade and has boasted record sales ever since.</strong></li><li><strong>The RAV4 is competitive when it comes to reliability and safety, but Chevy is catching up on performance and vehicle tech.</strong></li><li><strong>We put the two head-to-head to see who wins the battle of the small SUVs.</strong></li></ul><p>For the last few months, I have almost exclusively driven compact SUVs.</p><p>It's not as sexy of a driving experience as, say, a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lamborghini-aventador-s-supercar-racetrack-drive-2017-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lamborghini Aventador</a>, but there's still good reason for giving the humble crossover a closer look. Mainly, that this is what most of America is buying nowadays.</p><p>Compact and crossover SUVs account <span>for </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/best-selling-cars-trucks-vehicle-america-2016-2017-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">35% of all cars and trucks</a><span> sold in the US. That's a win for automakers, which secure higher margins on the larger vehicles than passenger sedans.</span></p><p>The Chevy Equinox has boasted reasonable sales, but has conventionally fallen behind frontrunners like the Toyota RAV4, which is the second best-selling compact SUV in the US. Chevy, however, decided to give the Equinox a better shot at cornering the market with a revamped model that's been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chevy-equinox-review-photos-features-2017-7/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">selling well</a> since its launch.</p><p>We put the Chevy Equinox LT and Toyota RAV4 Platinum head-to-head because both are popular crossovers that match on size. We wanted to see how two crossovers on the larger size stack up when it comes to sheer driving experience.</p><p>It's worth noting, however, that we're pitting the Equinox's turbo 4-cylinder engine against the non-turbo, 4-cylinder engine used by the RAV4, which is also larger. That may be a dealbreaker off the bat for some buyers who prefer the power of a classic 4-cylinder engine.</p><p>That being said, here's our take on the two:</p>

We put the Chevy Equinox against the Toyota RAV4 in the battle of popular compact SUVs - here's the verdict

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:402px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/author/alex-davies">Alex Davies</a></p></div>U.S. News &amp; World Report has released its annual list of <a href="http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/Best-Cars-for-the-Money/">Best Cars for the Money Awards</a>, and <keyword id="6355174" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ford">Ford</keyword> is all over it.</p>
<p>The awards name a car in 21 categories, including compact <keyword id="20632" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cars">cars</keyword>, hybrid cars, upscale small cars, and SUVs.</p>
<p>The winners are chosen based on automotive press reviews, reliability and safety data, and the average price of the car and cost of ownership.</p>
<p>Six of the winners are Ford vehicles; five are Toyotas (including the Scion and Lexus models).</p>
<p>Ford had an especially strong 2012 (culminating in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ford-q4-2012-earnings-2013-1">smashed Q4 revenue expectations</a>), so it's no surprise that it's all over this list.</p>
<p>Depending on how the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fords-lincoln-relaunch-is-working-so-far-2013-1">relaunch of its luxury Lincoln</a> brand goes and what happens with questions about <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ford-faces-fuel-economy-lawsuit-2012-12">how its cars deliver on promised fuel economy</a>, it could be top again in a year's time.</p>
<p>For its part, <keyword id="6374528" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Toyota">Toyota</keyword> took back the crown as the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-is-the-worlds-biggest-automaker-2013-1">world's biggest automaker</a> last year, and may be the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-has-best-brand-perception-2013-2">best auto brand in America</a>.</p>
<p>Here are the U.S. News &amp; World Report winners:</p>
<ul>
<li>Subcompact Car: <keyword id="20630" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Honda">Honda</keyword> Fit</li>
<li>Compact Car: Ford Focus</li>
<li>Upscale Small Car: Buick Verano</li>
<li>Hatchback: Honda Fit</li>
<li>Midsize Car: Ford Fusion</li>
<li>Upscale Midsize Car: Buick Regal</li>
<li>Large Car: Ford Taurus</li>
<li>Hybrid Car: Ford Fusion Hybrid</li>
<li>Sports Car: Scion FR-S</li>
<li>Wagon: Subaru Outback</li>
<li>Compact SUV: Ford Escape</li>
<li>Luxury Compact SUV: <keyword id="6355119" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="BMW">BMW</keyword> X1</li>
<li>Midsize SUV with Two Rows: Ford Edge</li>
<li>Midsize SUV with Three Rows: Hyundai Santa Fe</li>
<li>Large SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe</li>
<li>Hybrid SUV: Lexus RX Hybrid</li>
<li>Minivan: Mazda Mazda5</li>
<li>Compact Pickup Truck: Toyota Tacoma</li>
<li>Full Size Pickup Truck: Toyota Tundra</li>
</ul>

Ford Sells More Great Cars For The Money Than Any Automaker

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">The Model 3 has a trunk and a "frunk."</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong>The <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tsla-stock">Tesla</a> Model 3 is a sedan, not an SUV.</strong></li><li><strong>A selling point of SUVs is cargo capacity.</strong></li><li><strong>But the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/tesla-model-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tesla Model 3</a> has extra space that can add to its gear-hauling credibility.</strong></li></ul><p>In some respects, the new <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/tesla-model-3">Tesla Model 3</a> sedan is the wrong car for the current SUV-mad market in the US.</p><p>Americans are<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-americans-are-not-buying-family-sedans-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> buying lots of compact SUVs</a>. In fact, some automakers now think that a structural change has occurred and that SUVs have completely displaced passenger cars. If you want to buy or lease, you can start with a small SUV and never look back.</p><p>Tesla plans to roll out a compact SUV, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/tesla-model-y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Model Y</a>, but until then, we have to content ourselves with the four-door.</p><p>The Model 3 has a conventional, manually operated truck that is reasonably roomy. But compared with the cargo hatch of a compact SUV, the Model 3 looks a bit meager. That is until you get the Tesla's secret cargo weapon: the frunk!</p><p>Read on.</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Tesla stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/TSLA-Quote"> <strong>here.</strong></a></p>

Tesla's Model 3 isn't an SUV - but you can almost use it like one

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Over the years, I've driven many, many midsize, mass-market <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/suvs">SUVs</a>.</li><li>My ten favorites are from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/honda">Honda</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/toyota">Toyota</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/jeep">Jeep</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/ford">Ford</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/gmc">GMC</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/kia">Kia</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/subaru">Subaru</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/volkswagen">VW</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/chevy">Chevy</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/buick">Buick</a>.</li><li>These midsize SUVs combine performance, value, quality, and versatility.</li><li>They're all worth a look, especially for families that are too large for compact SUVs and don't want to go with a minivan.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>SUVs now rule the US auto market - and they have for years. </p><p>Since the recovery from the financial crisis began, consumers have shifted so decisively away from passenger cars that some automakers - Ford and Fiat Chrysler, most notably - have discontinued almost everything that isn't an SUV or a pickup truck.</p><p>That trend should continue in the post-coronavirus world. And buyers will continue to have three key SUV segments to choose from: compact, midsize, and full-size.</p><p>Of these, the midsize segment appeals to the widest range of customers; compact SUVs are entry level, and full-size utes are for folks who have large families, need to tow heavy loads, or might run a high-end car service and require the features of a Lincoln Navigator or Cadillac Escalade.</p><p>I've driven a lot of midsize SUVs over the past few years, and in the mass-market, I've come up with ten favorites. </p><p>Here they are:</p><p><em>Editorial note: Benjamin Zhang contributed many of the original reviews of these SUVs.</em></p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Ford stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/f-Quote"> <strong>here.</strong></a></p>

I've driven midsize SUVs from Toyota, Honda, Ford, VW, Chevy and many others. These are the 10 best ones I've reviewed.

<keyword id="3507190" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="kia-motors-india">Kia Motors India</keyword> on Wednesday said its recently-launched compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) Sonet has got 50,000 bookings.<br /><br />In a statement, <keyword id="109790" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kia-Motors">Kia Motors</keyword> India - a wholly owned subsidiary of <keyword id="1055815" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kia-Motors-Corporation">Kia Motors Corporation</keyword> of South Korea - said: "This record booking number affirms its status as a game-changer by customers in the highly competitive compact SUV category. This milestone figure was attained within two months of opening of bookings on August 20, 2020." <br /><br />Kia Motors said that last month 9,266 units of the Sonet were dispatched, making it the leader of the compact SUV segment within 12 days of its price announcement and market launch.<br /><br />Curiously, the announcement comes on the day when Japan's Nissan Motor Corporation world premiered its new compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) Magnite and said it would be made in India for Indian and the global market.<br /><br />The Magnite will soon be fighting against Sonet, Hyundai Motor's Venue and others in the Indian market.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/top-stocks-to-watch-ril-ioc-ongc-cipla-hindustan-zinc-prabhat-dairy-and-others/articleshow/78780036.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Top stocks to watch — RIL, IOC, ONGC, Cipla, Hindustan Zinc, Prabhat Dairy, and others</a><br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/checkout-samsung-galaxy-m51-mobile-review/articleshow/78780771.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Samsung Galaxy M51 review – insane battery life</a><br /> <br /> </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/india-will-be-most-consequential-partner-for-us-in-indo-pacific-this-century/articleshow/78780949.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"><strong>US Defence Secretary believes India will be the most consequential partner for US in Indo-Pacific this century</strong></a><br />

Kia Sonet gets over 50,000 bookings in just 2 months

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>If you're an automaker and you're selling compact SUVs, you're doing well in a resurgent U.S. auto market.</p>
<p>Take Nissan and Honda.</p>
<p>Each reported strong crossover model sales and record October U.S. sales for their core brands on Monday.</p>
<p>Major automakers in the U.S. market are expected to show a rise of about 6 percent from a year earlier.</p>
<p>Nissan Motor sales rose 13.3 percent to 103,117 vehicles, beating expectations of a 11 percent rise. The Nissan brand's sales rose 15 percent, while the Infiniti luxury brand's sales fell 1.2 percent.</p>
<p>Nissan Rogue crossover sales increased 14 percent to nearly 14,700. The Sentra small car's sales rose 56 percent to 13,129.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Honda Motor's sales rose 5.8 percent, missing expectations of an 8 percent rise.</p>
<p>Honda's top-selling model was the CR-V crossover at 29,257, up 30 percent. The CR-V competes in the same segment as the Rogue and numerous other similar vehicles. The segment has enjoyed strong sales in 2014 as consumers head back to dealer showrooms, seeking versatile <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">transportation</keyword> options. </p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Compact SUVs offer many of the benefits of compact sedans, including good fuel economy, but their general design allows the to be used to more easily move around gear and cargo. The segment has traditionally appealed to young car buyers and small families.</p>
<p>CR-V sales were so good that they eclipsed Honda's Accord sedan, which had sales of 27,128, up 8 percent. Sales of the Civic, Honda's compact sedan, fell 12 percent to 24,154.</p>
<p>Motor Trend recently named the CR-V its SUV of the Year.</p>

Big SUVs Are Back, But Carmakers Are Also Selling Small SUVs Like Crazy

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Compact SUVs are selling like crazy these days, threatening to displace the beloved sedan as the starter car of choice. Smaller SUVs and crossovers are also being snapped up by families and retirees, setting off much discussion in the auto industry about whether cars are enduring a slow fade to irrelevance in the US as consumers vote for SUV versatility.</p><p>Over the past few years, I've sampled numerous compact SUVs, and for the most part, I've found them to be uniformly excellent. This is an area in which most automakers seem to have figured out what they're doing. But my personal favorite vehicle in the segment has long been the Ford Escape. It's sort of intangible, my affection for the Escape: I like its overall sense of scale, that it feels more like a truck than a car (even though the current design hails from Europe, hardly a land where trucks rule the landscape as they do in the US).</p><p>However, I've never taken a compact SUV on a long trip, so when the opportunity rolled around earlier this year, I jumped on it. The 2016 Escape Titanium tips the scales at about $33,000 with the options package that I enjoyed. </p><p>Come along for the ride!</p>

This is what it's like to take a Ford Escape on a road trip to the heart of the US auto industry

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chevrolet</span></p><p class="caption">The newly-redesigned 2017 Trax compact SUV.</p></div><p></p></div>The Chevrolet Trax compact SUV will get a facelift after only one model year, to better compete in a fast-growing segment, Bloomberg reported.</p><p>Changes will include a redesigned, friendlier exterior and a new infotainment system.</p><p>The Trax was already the second best selling car in the sub-compact SUV segment in its first full year, but doubling down on its bet is understandable because of increasing competition. </p><p><span>"To fend off competitors like the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, </span><span>Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade, Chevrolet has redesigned the front </span><span>end of the Trax to look more like the brand's Malibu sedan - </span><span>and not the Equinox SUV," Bloomberg's John Lippert said. </span></p><p><span>The new Trax will also include an all-around safety update, including 10 airbags and several driver alert systems.</span></p><p>Business Insider sampled the Trax last year during a rough Northeastern winter and enjoyed it.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chevrolet</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/attack-ad-donald-trump-doll-ted-cruz-president-republican-cruz-2016-2">Ted Cruz's new Donald Trump action figure ad looks like something out of SNL</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="xkdzh0MDE6VAf9POTq9EQm7QTaAaXWAu" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Chevy is redesigning its Trax SUV to double-down on success

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Harold Cunningham/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Tesla Model X.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Tesla CEO <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-elon-musk-new-top-secret-master-plan-2016-7" target="_blank">Elon Musk unveiled a new master plan</a> for his company Wednesday night in a blog post titled "Master plan, Part Deux."</p><p>In the newly revealed road map, the Silicon Valley tycoon announced plans to introduce a new compact SUV and a new pickup truck.</p><p>In the process, the company is marching head-on into the most competitive segment - compact SUVs - and the most territorial segment - pickup trucks- in the US auto market.</p><p>But Musk's decision to do so makes sense. In the blog post, the Tesla CEO cited his desire for the company's products to reach a greater swath of the automotive market than luxury sedans and premium SUVs.</p><p>With the addition of these two models, Tesla would indeed achieve that goal.</p><p>Compact SUVs make up the single largest segment in the US auto market with more than 2.9 million vehicles of the type sold in 2015. Last year, compact SUV sales grew more than 20% compared to 2014 and that growth has continued into 2016. However, the strength of the segment also begets the high-pressure competition that exists within it.</p><p>Models such as the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Nissan Rogue dominate the market by offering great utility and rock-solid reliability at a reasonable price.</p><p>It's also a segment seldom frequented by electric automakers. The only compact SUV in recent memory to reach the mass market was the Toyota RAV4 EV and was discontinued in 2014. Coincidentally, the RAV4 EV was actually powered by Tesla's battery and electric drive systems. So, in that respect, Tesla has been here before.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Toyota</span></p><p class="caption">Toyota RAV4 EV with Tesla electric drivetrain technology.</p></div><p></p></div></div>In addition, the compact SUV will, in all likelihood, be built on the same platform as the $35,000 Model 3 sedan. Since Musk confirmed in his new master plan that a car cheaper than the Model 3 will be unlikely, the new compact SUV will be priced higher than most mass-market offerings.</p><p>However, none of the mass-market SUVs have Tesla's brand caché. Considering the type of demand Tesla has seen for the Model 3, Tesla will likely have no problem finding buyers for its compact SUV.</p><h2><strong>Pickup trucks</strong></h2><p>The pickup truck is one of the great symbols of Americana. As a result, they are big business in the US. Americans bought more than 2.5 million pickup trucks last year - which translates to more than 16% of all passenger vehicles sold. For that reason, American truck-buyers are fiercely territorial with the market neatly carved up by Ford, GM, and RAM. For the last couple of decades, Nissan and Toyota have tried desperately to gain traction in this segment, but have, thus far, not made much headway.</p><p>In 2015, Ford sold more than 780,000 F-Series trucks in the US - commanding roughly 36% of the full-size pickup truck segment. Toyota, the best performing brand not from Detroit, sold just 119,000 full-size Tundra trucks - which translates to about 5% of the segment. </p><p>Ford and Chevrolet tried out all-electric versions of their respective Ranger and S10 compact trucks in the late 90s with not a whole lot of success. Since the Ranger EV and the S10 EV were put out to pasture, the electric truck segment has been a very quiet neighborhood for the last 15 years.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Ford</span></p><p class="caption">1998 Ford Ranger EV.</p></div><p></p></div></div>It will be interesting to see Tesla's approach to the pickup truck. Although its ultra-torquey electric drivetrain is perfect for towing, it remains to be seen if Tesla will actually build a bonafide truck. The company could opt for a crossover-truck mashup in the realm of a Honda Ridgeline or a car-truck combo such as the cult classic Chevrolet El Camino.</p><p>In statement to Business Insider, <span>Kelley Blue Book analyst Akshay Anand wrote,</span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"<span>Elon Musk has laid out a grand plan, but it's all in the execution for Tesla. There are plenty of lofty goals, and with them, come items such as cash burn, production, etc. First off, Model X issues need to be solved. Second, Tesla needs to deliver the Model 3 on time and reliable. Third, the Model 3 needs to sell to enough consumers to make the rest of Musk's plan feasible. It's awesome that Musk is really thinking about the future, but acting out the plan will be an interesting challenge."</span></p><p><span>Anand is right. At the end of the day, Tesla will have to tackle its immediate challenges such as ramping up production and delivery of the Model X. At the same time, the company has to finish development and ramp up delivery of the Model 3 as well. Only then, can Tesla dive into the Musk's new master plan.</span></p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/drive-highly-anticipated-acura-nsx-track-156000-2016-6">We took a spin around the track in the highly anticipated $156,000 Acura NSX - here's what it's like</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="wzdndlNDE6Z2lY0JB5tkQUqAkYYPNNlc" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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