CEO and ED of Mahindra’s Auto and Farm business added, “There is a conversation we are having with that company in that space.”
Having committed over Rs 12,000 crore to its electric vehicle business, Mahindra & Mahindra is actively considering battery localisation in the country. During a media interaction following the Q4 FY24 earnings, Rajesh Jejurikar, ED and CEO of the Auto and Farm business at Mahindra & Mahindra highlighted the company’s proactive stance, stating that the possibility of cell localisation in India is currently under ‘very active consideration.’
“We have said in the past that we are actively looking at cell localisation, and there is a conversation we are having with that company in that space, and that conversation continues, so it is very much on the table, by way of a possibility,” he added.
- Mahindra plans seven new EVs contributing 20-30 percent to total sales
- Mahindra and VW have been in talks to localise battery production
On Thursday, the company announced plans to launch 7 battery electric vehicles by the end of the decade and is aiming to have them make up 20-30 percent of Mahindra’s total sales by then.
Also see: Mahindra Thar pending orders down to 59,000 units
Mahindra has already partnered with multiple battery companies, such as Volkswagen, BYD, LG Chem, and Farasis, to power its EV portfolio. While Jejurikar was non-commital on the partner for cell localisation, in the past, Volkswagen Group top executives have said that they are open to localising cells in India along with M&M.
Mahindra was also among the 18 companies that participated in the recently held pre-bid meeting for battery PLI, for setting up 10 GWh battery manufacturing facilities under the PLI Scheme. Sops worth Rs 3,620 crore are being offered in this round.
Also see: Mahindra XUV700 order backlog halved in just one quarter
When Mahindra announced its partnership with VW Group in London in 2022 had said that the scope of cooperation was not limited to sourcing and components, hinting that even joint product development was a possibility. Autocar India had exclusively reported that building on the strong EV component sourcing partnership it has forged with the Volkswagen Group, both partners were exploring the joint development of a budget EV with Group brand Skoda for India and global markets.
WITH INPUTS BY RADHIKA DAVE
Also see:
We are looking at hybrid technologies closely: Mahindra MD
Mahindra Scorpio N, Scorpio Classic order backlog reduces to 86,000 units
Mahindra XUV 3XO deliveries start May 26