“SUV Electrification Will Reach Inflexion Point In Two Years”
In line with its ambition to be planet positive by 2040, the Mahindra Group has upped its focus in the electric vehicles (EV) space. While it has a strong play in the electric three-wheeler space, with two new brands in the electric SUV market, including the recently launched XUV400, Mahindra is eyeing a large share in this segment as well.
Mahindra’s electric strategy focuses only on the four-wheeler and three-wheeler segments, which it has now spun off into two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Mahindra Electric Automobile (MEAL) and Mahindra Last Mile Mobility (LMM), respectively.
Eyeing SUV Electric Leadership
Mahindra’s EV aspiration is reflected in its Born Electric Vehicles (BEV) range of eSUVs under the two EV brands –– XUV with the Twin Peak logo in copper and the all-new electric-only brand, BE.
“Our vision of Born Electric is underpinned by the future-ready INGLO platform, two new brands and the Heartcore design philosophy. This provides a powerful glimpse of our strategic direction and hews to the Mahindra attitude of a racing spirit and the attitude of adventure,” says Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director & CEO, Auto and Farm Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra.
The company has roped in British International Investment to invest up to Rs 1,925 crore into MEAL at a valuation of up to Rs 70,070 crore.
A Slew of Investments
To scale up electric three-wheelers and affordable small commercial vehicles, Mahindra has also tied up with International Finance Corporation, wherein the latter will invest Rs 600 crore in Mahindra LMM.
“Being market leaders in the last-mile mobility segment, we have an opportunity to drive higher EV penetration and provide a more sustainable as well as profitable option to microentrepreneurs,” explains Jejurikar.
Mahindra’s EV journey is at full throttle as it remains bullish on India’s EV future. The company is also tying up with state governments for subsidies and other stakeholders to create a wider network that can together realise its electric future vision.
You launched Mahindra XUV400 earlier this year. What is the market feedback? We launched the XUV400 in March effectively. The overall feedback is very positive both from the vehicle standpoint and the initial numbers. We have more than 3,000 vehicles on the road already. The EV segment in India is in the very early stages of penetration. Pegged at less than two per cent, it has a huge upside opportunity. SUV electrification will take another two years to reach its inflexion point. We are amid a category-creation exercise, where customers have several queries. They want to understand the data, know about charging infrastructure or whether societies will permit it or how to get permissions and so on. You can expect to see real growth by 2025-27, given the pace at which the charging infrastructure is coming up and how customer awareness is increasing. How does this translate to your overall portfolio? We believe that about 20 to 30 per cent of our SUV portfolio will be electric by 2027. This is why we are investing significantly in preparing for the electric transition. Not only did we spin off our electric three-wheeler and SUV electric into separate businesses, where we have partnered with like-minded investors such as British International Investment and International Finance Corporation who believe in prioritising sustainability and are in it for the long term, but we are also working with state governments like Maharashtra and Telangana for wider impact. How do you see these independent entities grow in the time ahead? We are very bullish on the EV space in India. We spun off into the two companies because this is an important business. In a way, we are creating two beachheads on which to build the business and in both, we have investors and very good valuations. |
