BENGALURU : Mahindra Electric Mobility, a part of the $20.7 billion Mahindra Group, on Thursday said the company will invest Rs 1,000 crore by 2020 to strengthen its electric vehicle (EV) portfolio.“We are the pioneers of electric mobility in India and we started investing in the segment 10 years ago. Now, with the government’s push for electric vehicles, we are seeing more traction in the segment. We will invest about Rs 1,000 crore for the business by 2020,” said Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra.
According to the company, it had already invested about Rs 500 crore in the electric mobility space, including Rs 400 crore invested towards development of EV products and technology. Apart from this, Mahindra has also announced the opening of its electric technology manufacturing hub in Karnataka with an investment of Rs 100 crore. “We plan to invest the remaining Rs 500 crore by 2020,” Goenka added.
Branded under the umbrella of ME technologies, the facility will manufacture battery packs, power electronics and motor assembly — integral parts of an electric power train. The plant will increase manufacturing of Mahindra Electric to 25,000 units per annum. The new facility will also create additional direct employment for around 200 people and some more through its allied services in Karnataka.
Earlier, Goenka also unveiled Mahindra’s first lithium ion battery-powered electric three-wheelers Treo and Treo Yaari with starting prices (ex-showroom) at Rs 2.2 lakh and Rs 1.36 lakh respectively, in Bengaluru.
In the pipeline
M&M also plans to introduce the electric version of its KUV100 car by mid-2019 and also to launch electric S201 in the first half of 2020.