The SUVs will be sold under two brands -- XUV and BE -- the automaker said in a video presentation on Monday. The electric vehicles were conceptualized at the Mahindra Advanced Design Europe in the UK.
Producing a range of clean vehicles is crucial for Mahindra to break the dominance of rival Tata Motors Ltd. in India’s nascent electric car market. Mahindra, a local leader in electric three-wheelers, currently sells only one electric car, the e-Verito, despite having a first-mover advantage with its purchase of an Indian electric automaker in 2010.
India’s adoption of electric vehicles has fallen behind other major countries such as China due to sparse charging infrastructure and high upfront-cost of battery-powered cars. Decarbonizing transport is key for India, which is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, to meet its goal of becoming net-carbon zero by 2070.
Ola’s Plans
The first of the Mahindra’s e-SUVs will be launched by the end of 2024 for the Indian market while other three should be out by 2026, the company said in a statement.
In a sign of how the market is getting crowded, Bhavish Aggarwal’s startup, Ola Electric Mobility Pvt., announced plans on the same day to launch its first electric car in mid-2024 and price it at less than $50,000 for the Indian market.
Mahindra’s new wholly-owned EV unit was valued at $9.1 billion when it attracted an investment of $250 million by British International Investment Plc in July. The carmaker’s executive director, Rajesh Jejurikar, expects as much as 30% of Mahindra’s SUV portfolio to be electric by 2027 with the launch of eight electric SUVs by then.
