New Delhi, Feb. 7 -- Mahindra & Mahindra's (M&M) bet on premium sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and the high demand for its SUVs helped it better negotiate the margin squeeze that its peers faced during the October-December quarter.

The Thar and XUV 700 SUV maker gave fewer discounts than its peers during the festival period around November, which usually sees the highest automotive sales in India, its top management told media Friday. The company also hiked prices for two of its popular models-XUV 3X0 and XUV 700-at the beginning of the quarter, further securing its margins.

"We did not have to discount too much through the festival season and post that, as well, because a large part of our portfolio is on a very strong demand pipeline,"...