Soaring petrol prices have forced the Army to look for other options in the SUV variant and it started summer trials of Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari in Thar desert in Rajasthan today.
The vehicles are being driven by Army drivers to test their endurance, fuel consumption, temperature, cross country drive performance with and without load, power-to-wheel ratio among other factors, Army sources said.
Two variants of Mahindra Scorpio and one variant of Tata Safari are under the trial on desert tracks in Jaisalmer in the western sector, they said.
The Army plans to phase out petrol-run Maruti Gypsy from its inventory under a project and rising prices of petrol is one of the reasons behind the move.
The force has a requirement of around 30,000 new light utility 4X4 vehicles and plans to phase-out the Maruti Gypsy by 2017, sources said.
Induction of these new vehicles would be in a phased manner and the process is expected to be completed in the next 15-20 years.
