Mahindra Electric will continue to maintain its focus on the electric autos as it feels that the hurdles in import of components from China is a temporary phenomenon
In spite of the ongoing challenging circumstances and mass-scale disruptions in the auto sector, Mahindra plans to stay focussed on the electric vehicles segment. In fact, the company plans to launch as many as three new products in the current financial year. It may be noted here that Mahindra Electric sold more than 14,000 EVs last year.
Among the upcoming electric cars from Mahindra is the eKUV100, an electrified version of the KUV100 that has been in the pipeline for a while now. Other than this, the company will also launch Treo Zor and Atom in the current financial year. The launch of the Treo Zor seems to have been fast-tracked owing to the high demand for the Treo eAuto and Treo Yaari having encouraged the company.
However, the company has also ensured that in spite of the high focus on electric vehicles, it would not defer any of its plans in the mainstream auto sector. In February, it had come to light that Mahindra Electric was contemplating selling of some of its stake in Mahindra Electric.
Speaking on this Pawan Goenka, MD and CEO, Mahindra and Mahindra had said,“Scale for EVs is very important and we would be subscale if we do everything on our own. To get larger volumes and reduce costs we need strategic investments. It is too early to talk about an IPO, we need to first work on profitability and bring down our stake”,
However, now, it looks like the company has had a change of plan as the company feels it is important to continue having a majority control in Mahindra Electric. Mahesh Babu, MD and CEO of Mahindra Electric, has said, “I am happy that Mahindra Electric was EBITDA positive in Q4. Mahindra is not looking to divest any stake in Mahindra Electric. We want to set up a new global R&D centre. We are looking for PE co-investors who can be a part of the journey but Mahindra and Mahindra will always be the majority stakeholder in Mahindra Electric. It is investing in the company this year as well.”
The executive has also revealed that the hurdles in the import of some of the components from China owing to the prevailing tensions between the two countries is temporary and the electric vehicle industry of India is poised to bounce back.