From the Apex · Launch Mode · 2026-08-19

Mahindra removed a seat from the XEV 9S and charged ₹25,000 for it. The charger is the real bill.

Captain chairs from ₹25.25 lakh, and a ₹75,000 wall box hiding in the aggregator price grids.

• Mahindra's XEV 9S now offers second-row captain seats on four configurations, from ₹25.25 lakh.
• Losing the middle seat costs ₹25,000 on the cheapest pack and ₹20,000 on the rest.
• The 11.2kW wall charger is a separate ₹75,000 line, which is why aggregator price grids sit ₹75,000 above the launch reports.
• Nothing mechanical changes. Same packs, same motor, same range.

Mahindra took a seat out of its big electric SUV and charged you for it. The interesting number is somewhere else on the page.

Mahindra added a six-seat option to the XEV 9S on 19 August 2026, swapping the second-row bench for captain chairs with their own armrests and a walk-through to the third row. It is offered on Pack Two Above with either the 70kWh or the 79kWh battery, on Pack Three and on Pack Three Above, but not on the base Pack One Above. Prices start at ₹25.25 lakh ex-showroom, which is ₹25,000 over the seven-seat equivalent; the other three carry a ₹20,000 premium. Nothing under the floor changes: same single rear motor, same 380Nm, same claimed 679km on the 79kWh pack.

The number to look at is not the seat. Mahindra's own configurator lists the top pack as a ₹29.95 lakh vehicle plus a ₹75,000 11.2kW wall charger, and that ₹75,000 is exactly the gap between the launch-day price grid and the one aggregators show today. One fewer seat costs ₹25,000. The plug to fill the thing costs three times more, and it is not in the headline.