Mahindra lines up new products

New Delhi: Mahindra & Mahindra is lining up new products and investments while firming up production plans as it remains "very optimistic" about gradual evolution of electric vehicle penetration in the country over the next few years.

According to a senior company official, the Mumbai-based automajor expects transition towards electric mobility to happen step wise with fleet and sports utility segments expected to lead the transformation in the domestic market.

"Our internal research tells us that 25 per cent of the existing SUV buyers would like to consider an electric SUV as their next purchase. The research also tells us that over the next 2-3 years we will see this kind of transition happening," Mahindra & Mahindra Executive Director (Auto and Farm sectors) Rajesh Jejurikar said in an interaction.

He noted that five years from now the company expects about 20-30 per cent of its SUVs to be electric. Betting big on green mobility, Mahindra has lined up five new electric Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) with the first four expected to hit the market between December 2024 and 2026. The automaker plans to roll out the five electric SUV models under two brands — XUV and the all-new electric-only brand called "BE".

Legacy brands will come under the XUV marque while the all new electric model would be rolled out under the "BE" brand. Elaborating on the trends, Jejurikar noted that the electric penetration in the domestic market will start with households with multiple cars. "Also the fleet segment will move very quickly to electric as it makes economic sense for them," he added. The offtake however for electric hatchbacks and sedans in the personal segment would be slow as the customers would not like to pay a higher price upfront for the only car in the family in absence of adequate charging infrastructure in place, Jejurikar stated.