Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said Oct. 10 that it partnered with global leasing service companies Orix Corp. and Société Générale SA-owned ALD Automotive to launch a car-leasing service in six cities in India.

The service is being rolled out in Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi, with plans to introduce the program to 19 more cities in the future.

Mahindra's KUV100NXT model is available for lease at a monthly rental payment starting at 13,499 Indian rupees, while its XUV500 can be leased at a beginning price of 32,999 rupees. The leasing offering also includes the KUV100, Scorpio and Marazzo models.

The service covers insurance, end-to-end maintenance, on-road assistance, accidental repairs and a 24-hour replacement vehicle, among other things.

Mahindra added that the leased vehicles will be available for a period of up to five years, depending on the city and model selected.

The automaker said that the offering provides a "no-worry" experience as customers are allowed the convenience of having a car without the disadvantages of ownership, such as down payments for purchases and reselling old vehicles.

As of Oct. 9, US$1 was equivalent to 74.08 Indian rupees.