Mahindra Electric Mobility, formerly Mahindra Reva, has announced plans to develop high-powered electric vehicles that can run up to 350 kms in a single charge to compete with global makers like General Motors and Tesla.
Also in the offing is a high-end luxury electric car to be developed by the Mahindra Group’s Italian arm, Pininfarina, which it acquired in 2015. The car, to be made under the Pininfarina brand name, is for the international market. Approvals for this project has come and it would take three to four years for the car to be on the road. In the public transportation space, the company also announced to foray into electric rickshaw segment to broad-base its product offering. E-rickshaws in various seating capacity will be introduced in two months and these will be manufactured at the company’s manufacturing facility in Haridwar, a top company official said.
Government support
The company’s foray into the electric carmaking segment has been encouraged by the Government’s support for electric vehicles to curb emission, to reduce India’s oil import bills and the Government think-tank NITI Aayog’s policy to promote green vehicles in the country.
Ten years ago Mahindra had forayed into e-rickshaws called Bijlee but had to pull out of this business due to lack of demand.
Currently, Mahindra Electric sells four electric vehicles namely eVerito sedan, e2o Plus hatch, eSupro van and Panel vans — the last two being last-mile connectivity providers. Some fleet operators have started using Mahindra Electric vehicles in Delhi and the company is in talks with shared mobility service providers and fleet operators to promote its technology.
Under this program called EV 2.0 the company said it would invest in next generation EV technology solutions which will deliver longer range, higher speeds and the next generation of connected-car technologies.
Product roadmap
The company on Wednesday unveiled a comprehensive technology and product roadmap with an objective to lead the electric vehicle revolution in the country. The company has finalised plans to set up a battery assembly factory at Chakan near Pune with a production capacity of 60,000 units a year. Mahindra Electric did not reveal the amount to be invested in this project.
Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.& Chairman, Mahindra Electric, said, “The time has now arrived for EVs to become mainstream and Mahindra has the right technology and products for India.”
Currently, the company sells 100 electric vehicles a month and expects bigger traction in the coming years as the Government has fixed GST at 12% on electric vehicles. The company expects to sell 5,000 electric cars a month by mid-2019 and investments are being made to augment capacity.
It is also working closely with Group company Ssang Yong Motor of Korea to develop high-powered electric vehicles that have a speed of 150 to 200 km per hour and can run up to 350 kms in a single charge. Three such high-powered electric vehicles including Mahindra XUV Areo are being planned.
