Mahindra & Mahindra has unveiled 5 electrical SUVs primarily based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform because the automaker seeks to expedite its lagging swap to battery-powered vehicles in India.
Mahindra is the second buyer for VW Group’s MEB platform after Ford, which is able to start manufacturing this yr of an MEB-based electrical SUV in-built its plant in Cologne, Germany.
The Mahindra electrical SUVs will likely be offered underneath two manufacturers — XUV and BE, the automaker stated in a video presentation on Monday.
The automobiles have been conceptualized on the Mahindra Superior Design Europe within the UK.
They are going to be underpinned by Mahindra’s new Inglo electrical platform, which is able to provide battery capability starting from 60 to 80 kilowatt hours and fast-charging of as much as 80 p.c in lower than half-hour, Mahindra stated. It didn’t specify the vary of the EVs.
Greater than 1 million automobiles will likely be produced by the manufacturers over the period of the deal, VW stated in a press release.
“The partnership not solely demonstrates that our platform enterprise is very aggressive, but additionally that the MEB is nicely on monitor to turn into one of many main open platforms for e-mobility,” Volkswagen administration board member Thomas Schmall stated.
Schmall declined to supply agency numbers however stated that the settlement would translate into a major working consequence that he stated can be similar to a medium-sized model throughout the VW Group.
Mahindra’s VW-based SUVs will likely be referred to as the XUV.e8, XUV.e9, BE.05, BE.07 and the BE.09. The primary of the 5 electrical SUVs will likely be launched by the top of 2024 in India whereas different 4 must be out by 2026, Mahindra stated.
Mahindra has stated it expects electrical fashions to account for 20 to 30 p.c of its complete SUV gross sales by March 2027.
The corporate sells a few of India’s hottest combustion-engine SUVs, together with the Scorpio and Thar.
Producing a spread of unpolluted automobiles is essential for Mahindra to interrupt the dominance of rival Tata Motors in India’s nascent electrical automotive market.
Mahindra is a neighborhood chief in electrical three-wheelers, however presently sells just one electrical automotive, the e-Verito, regardless of having a first-mover benefit with its buy of an India-based EV maker in 2010.
India’s adoption of EVs has fallen behind different main international locations similar to China attributable to sparse charging infrastructure and the excessive upfront value of battery-powered vehicles.
Decarbonizing transport is essential for India, which is the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, to satisfy its objective of turning into net-carbon zero by 2070.
In an indication of how the market is getting crowded, Indian ride-hailing agency Ola Electrical stated on Monday that it plans to begin producing electrical vehicles in 2024 with a spread of as much as 500 km (310 miles) and costs of lower than $50,000.
Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report