Mahindra & Mahindra, unlike many of its competitors introducing CNG vehicles, does not seem to have any plans to foray into that space.
“We are looking at CNG fuel but in our pick-up and the commercial vehicle space,” said a Mahindra spokesperson.
It was in June, that the company launched the Supro CNG Duo in the SCV space, and aims to strengthen its portfolio with CNG variants in that segment.
It may be recollected that the company has systematically moved away from the entry-level mass market segment and has been vocal about not looking to enter the taxi or mass mobility space at least in the passenger vehicle space.
Flex fuel and electrification
The Indian government has been asking OMCs as well as the auto industry to invest in flex fuels, which basically is a blended mix of ethanol with petrol in different percentages.
At present, ethanol blending in India has reached around 20 percent, and all new vehicles sold in the country have been designed to be able to utilise the same.
“We will focus on flex fuels, but no plans for hybridisation,” responds Dr Anish Shah, to a query put up by Financial Express Online, on the sidelines of the company’s Q1 FY2024 results.
For Mahindra, the idea is to focus on areas where it is able to see profitable growth. In fact, recently Temasek announced its plans to invest up to Rs 1,200 crore in Mahindra’s EV subsidiary for a potential stake of 1.49 percent to 2.97 percent, which values Mahindra Electric Automobile at Rs 80,580 crore. It became the second investor following British International Investment (BII) which had aims to invest upto Rs 1,925 crore ($250 million).
Interestingly, Dr. Shah revealed that around Rs 600 crore has already been invested by Mahindra and BII in the EV business.
The idea of getting new investors was not for raising capital but to unlock value.
