Look out Kia Tasman, Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger! 2026 Mahindra Pik-Up ute shapes up as value ute champion to beat Chinese rivals such as MG U9, LDV Terron 9 and GWM Cannon

Mahindra has announced that the next-generation Pik-Up is being prepared for an all-out assault on the lucrative Australian ute market.

Dubbed Project Z121 and based on the Global Pik Up concept revealed in 2023, the all-new dual-cab one-tonne utility is pencilled in for an Australian launch sometime later next year, following a production debut in its native India later on this year.

Sharing nothing with the previous Pik Up, which was discontinued in Australia in 2023 after 16 years for falling short of meeting new safety regulations, the newcomer – whose name has yet to be confirmed – will step up to take on a diverse array of rivals.

To that end, it will be based on the new Thar Roxx SUV’s ladder-frame chassis, albeit highly modified for its role as a workhorse ute, and be offered in multiple bespoke bodystyles, including two-door and four-door guises.

“It is the number one dream program for us right now,” according to Mahindra President of Automotive Technology and Product Development, Velusamy R, speaking to the Australian media at the XUV 3XO small SUV first drive event in Chennai earlier this month.

“We are putting the big focus on the pick-up truck… it has the most advanced ladder-frame… it is based on the Thar Roxx and that platform is the latest-generation – generation four.”

Under the bonnet will be a variation of Mahindra’s 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, driving either the rear and all four wheels for part-time 4WD as required via either a six-speed manual or six-speed torque-converter automatic.

Using a conventional internal combustion engine is deemed the right path to best take on the ute establishment, from the LDV and GWM Ute at the bottom of the market to the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara in the mid to upper end.

“A good diesel engine and automatic transmission is best for a pick-up,” Velusamy R believes.

However, other powertrain options are under investigation for the mid-term future, as hybrid-powered challengers emerge, led by the GWM Cannon Alpha Hybrid and BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

“(The Pik Up would) need a different architecture,” Velusamy R explained. “We have started thinking about it.”

A likely candidate could be a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine acting as a range extender for an electric motor and battery.

The hybrid powertrain(s) will initially debut in a number of future Mahindra SUVs with transverse-engine applications, but may be modified for models like the Pik Up and Thar Roxx later on.

The brand is also ensuring that the Pik Up meets crash-safety expectations, stating that all future models will be engineered to meet European and Australian test standards.

As a result, it will include advanced driver-assist safety systems like autonomous emergency braking, lane support technologies, trailer-sway mitigation, driver-attention alert and a bevy of airbags.

According to Mahindra Head of International Operations, Sachin Arolkar, Australia – along with South Africa – is one of the key markets for the new Pik Up outside of India, meaning that Australian-market needs and requirements have been factored in from the beginning of development.

“Now, starting with the Z121 (ute), we are developing vehicles purely for international markets,” he revealed.

“That’s another game-changer (for Mahindra). When we discuss the global pickup… it is because it's meant for international markets.

“So, our product planning team was in Australia for a time, to get all the right inputs for a vehicle for markets like Australia and that's the change… including during the development phrase, taking inputs from the Australian market, the experts in Australia.

“This is a critical part of our engineering and product development.”

Arolkar added that Mahindra has observed Australian conditions and market requirements over the three decades it has imported tractors as well as the original Pik Up, and applied them accordingly.

“As far as the technology or content is concerned right now, many of these are, frankly speaking, bought off the shelf, but what is core to us is the engineering part,” he said.

“You can't buy that off the shelf. And that's something that's we have seen in the in the 20 years that we have been selling the tractors and the utes in Australia, or when we get to know that one of our vehicles has done a million kilometres… it gives us the confidence.”