Mahindra&Mahindra to pump in Rs 3,000 crore in EV business

Mahindra&Mahindra is set to inject Rs 3,000 crore on its electric vehicles (EV) business in the next three years, while it looks for more alliances and partnerships in the vertical. The company is working on developing on an EV platform by combining capabilities of its operations across the globe, including Detroit and Italy.

Anish Shah, Mahindra Group Managing Director and CEO, said they are going to invest Rs 3,000 crore additional to what they have talked about. The company had earlier said it was investing Rs 9,000 crore in auto and farm sectors in the next five years. It has already invested Rs 1,700 crore in the EV business in India with another Rs 500 crore on a new research and development (R&D) centre.

While it has already opened its electric technologies plant in Bengaluru that produces battery packs, power electronics and motors, it has also invested in a new manufacturing unit at its chakan plant to produce EVs. Shah said the fresh investment is over and above that. “It will be utilized on various activities, including developing a new platform that can roll out multiple models, by combining the group’s various capabilities. There are multiple capabilities we have within the group. We have capabilities in Detroit, we have capability in Automobili Pininfarina and our Formula E.”

In regards to partnerships, Shah said they will be looking at alliances for EVs. “EV is the future. We already have one alliance. We have announced an MoU with REE which is an Israeli company. This is for smaller trucks and commercial vehicles. And we will have other alliances in the EV side as well. So we are very open to alliances but it is more for the future,” he said. “We are open to all sorts of possibilities at this stage but at this point it is too early to say because we will have to have a lot of conversations. Once we do that we will have a better sense.”

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Bullish on the EV market in India, Shah said for the last mile, which is three wheelers and small four-wheelers for passengers and load, cost of ownership is now the same as that of conventional vehicles with charging not an issue due to swappable batteries.