Due for launch on February 14, the Mahindra XUV300 has been one of the most awaited cars of 2019. As reported, Mahindra will offer the XUV300 in four variants with two engines options-a 1.2-litre turbo petrol producing 200Nm of peak torque and a Marazzo-sourced 300Nm, 1.5-litre diesel. At the time of launch, both engines will come mated to a six-speed manual gearbox only. However, we can confirm that the diesel XUV300 will be offered with an AMT gearbox option soon.

We broke the news of the Marazzo getting an AMT gearbox initially followed by a torque converter and in a similar fashion, Mahindra will equip the diesel powered XUV300 with the Magnetti-Marelli sourced AMT gearbox as well. This will help the XUV300 compete better with rivals like the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, the Tata Nexon and even the Hyundai Creta, all of which are available in diesel-automatic configurations. The Mahindra XUV300 AMT will be launched shortly after the manual versions and would cost a slight premium over their manual counterparts. As for the petrol, there has been no confirmation of it receiving the AMT gearbox, for now.

As with the Marazzo, Mahindra will replace the AMT gearbox with an Aisin-sourced torque converter automatic unit on the XUV300 at the time that it would also receive an upgraded engine to meet the BS-VI emission norms ahead of the April 2020 deadline.