Mahindra seeks to expand EV offerings to take on competition

India’s electric vehicle (EV) leader Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd’s (M&M’s) decision to showcase its first affordable EV in the February Auto Expo will be among a host of product launches over the next two years.

In line with the Union government’s efforts to promote electric mobility among commercial operators such as Ola and Uber, the Mumbai-based company will focus on EVs with eco-friendly products, said Pawan Goenka, managing director, M&M.

Mahindra will also venture into the quadricycle segment with its new product, Atom, to take on rivals, including Bajaj Auto Ltd, which created the segment in India with Qute. Last year, the government had allowed the use of quadricycles for both personal, as well as commercial purposes.

Goenka said it will launch a low-cost electric variant of KUV 100 that will be priced at less than ₹9 lakh. The company is also working with state governments and startups to develop affordable electric vehicles, he said.

“Our first long-range electric SUV will be on XUV 300 and will be launched in 2021. We have a fairly holistic approach for electric vehicles both in terms of technology and working with service providers such as Lithium,” said Goenka.

In 2019, leading vehicle manufacturers such as Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd had launched their respective electric sport utility vehicles, Kona and Nexon. Newcomer MG Motor India unveiled its long-range ZS electric vehicle last December. Last year, Mahindra launched its first electric three-wheeler, Treo. It soon plans to launch a load carrier version of the vehicle.

The company is in the process of setting up a research and development centre for its electric vehicles. Goenka said M&M will strive to localize every component of its electric vehicle, barring the lithium cells for its batteries.

M&M announced that it has delivered 1,000 units of its electric vehicles to Lithium Urban Technologies, an employee transportation service provider.