NEW DELHI: To capture the growing market for electric vehicles (EVs), homegrown auto-major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Monday unveiled five new electric sports utility vehicles (e-SUVs) under two EV brands -- XUV and BE.
The five e-SUVs are named: the XUV.e8, XUV.e9, BE.05, BE.07 and BE.09. The XUV.e8 will be launched in December 2024, while the XUV.e9, BE.05 and BE.07 are slated to be launched between April 2025 and October 2026. Mahindra hasn’t given the launch date of BE.09.
Mahindra’s ambitious foray comes as the global automotive industry is switching from over a century-old internal combustion engine (ICE) technology to battery-powered vehicles and every automaker, from legacy players to new-age companies, putting in their best show to stay relevant.
The contribution of e-4Ws in India’s overall passenger vehicle sales stand nowhere close to that of the USA or China but in recent times it has seen some traction. At present, Tata Motor dominates this segment in India. Anand Mahindra, chairperson of M&M, believes the Mahindra brand could lead the e-4W market supported by the skills it learnt through its electric 3-wheeler business and also its vast R&D network spread across the world
“Today with the government support, rapid fall in total cost ownership and increased consumer awareness of environmental issues, we believe the time is ripe for us to enter the 4-wheeler market. Also, we have bigger plans in electric 4-wheeler not just for India, but around the world,” he said while unveiling his company’s electric mobility vision in the United Kingdom.
Mahindra also showcased its new INGLO platform that will underpin all their EVs going forward and formally inaugurated its new design centre of excellence, Mahindra Advanced Design Europe (M.A.D.E) in Oxfordshire.
Mahindra Group Managing Director & CEO Anish Shah said that by 2027, they expect that a quarter of their SUV sales will come from EVs. Mahindra and German automaker Volkswagen on Monday said they have inked a pact to further explore co-operation in the EV segment. The partnership intends to have a volume of more than one million units over lifetime and include the equipment of five e-SUVs with MEB components.
Besides M&M, India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors are pumping billions of dollars in developing EVs. Tata Motors plans to invest to the tune of USD 2 billion over the next five years during to have a portfolio of 10 EVs while Suzuki Motor has committed Rs10,440 crore as it aims to launch its first EV by 2025. Mahindra also has plans to invest over $1 billion. The company in July raised Rs 70,070 crore from British International Investment
