Mahindra is confident of finding new partners for its EV business as it aims to become a significant player in the zero-emission space
Mahindra & Mahindra appears to be seeking alliances for its EV business for the betterment of the future as it plans scaling up the operations reportedly. It has been said that the health crisis wreaking havoc on the economy does not have any impact on its electric vehicle plans as it has invested heavily in the space to give the confidence to get in new partners.
Carmakers indulging in strategic synergy is not new to the automotive industry as it helps in increasing productivity and lower down the costs involved in development. Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, Dr. Pawan Goenka told recently that his brand is open to partnerships in the EV business and is “engaged with multiple interested parties to invest in Mahindra Electric”.
The process is currently underway according to him. He further explained that Mahindra has invested in Bengaluru and has completed investing in its Chakan base for “high range of batteries“. He believes the investments will give Mahindra an advantage locally as they would “drive growth in the segment (EV)” moving forwards.
The homegrown UV specialist has been confirmed to be planning new launches over the next one year. He reckons finding partners for Mahindra Electric won’t be a difficult task as the company aims to become a major player in the electric vehicle space and Automobili Pininfarina (APF) caters to performance-based EVs on the other end of the spectrum as its product lineup is being evaluated for expansion.
The launch of the all-conquering Pininfarina Battista has been moved to 2021 and it is equipped with a 120 kWh battery pack supplied by Rimac Automobili. It uses four individual motors mounted on each wheel producing a combined power output of 1,877 horsepower and 2300 Nm. Mahindra is also looking for partners to invest in SsangYong and the status of them will be announced at an appropriate time.
Despite the 80 per cent drop in revenue in the automotive business in the first quarter of this fiscal, Mahindra is betting big on its new launches as the next-generation Thar will be unveiled on August 15 ahead of its market entry while the all-new XUV500 and Scorpio and planned for H1 2021. The production version of eXUV300 is expected in the second half of next year to rival Tata Nexon EV.