Mahindra Electric Mobility has opened a ₹100-crore electric technology manufacturing hub in Bengaluru and rolled out its lithium-ion three-wheeler range on Thursday.
Branded under the umbrella of +ME technologies, the facility will make battery packs, power electronics and motor assembly which are an integral part of an electric power train. The plant uses global standards of manufacturing processes and will increase the manufacturing capacity to 25,000 units per annum from the current 5,000 units.
It will also have a flexible production line where Mahindra can make both three- and four-wheelers.
Mahindra and Mahindra will invest another ₹500 crore to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Chakan in Pune and expand research and development facility in Bengaluru, according to Pawan Goenka, managing director of Mahindra and Mahindra and chairman, Mahindra Electric.
He didn’t specify when the Chakan facility would come up.
The lithium ion electric three-wheeler range — Treo and Treo Yaari — has been priced at ₹1.36 lakh ex-showroom Bengaluru, including the government’s FAME ( Faster Adoption and Manufacture of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) subsidy. The subsidy is given to electric scooters, three-wheelers and electric and hybrid cars.
The company is focussing on the first- and last-mile connectivity in urban areas, said Mahesh Babu, CEO Mahindra Electric. There would be 50 cities with a population of more than one million by 2030. And, there would be seven mega cities with more than 10 million population in the same period.
“This will pose a challenge on how we travel. Another challenge is the pollution and we have 14 out of the 20 most polluted cities. Congestion is another problem,” he said. India has four million three-wheelers on the road and 50,000 units were added every month.
He said many fleet operators had evinced interest in the company’s electric three-wheeler product.
Electrification is a rare opportunity. It will redefine the future mobility and bring in energy security and a clean environment, Mr. Goenka said. “It will be an opportunity for building brand India. We can start exporting and not importing technology,” he added.
