Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is expected to double the share of electric vehicles (EVs) in its total passenger vehicle volumes in the next three years, a top company official said on Monday.
Buoyed by the strong demand for its newly launched price premium EVs – BE 6 and XEV 9e, M&M will proceed to introduce smaller, more affordable EVs built on a dedicated vehicle platform from 2027 onwards.
This will not just improve the company’s EV volumes overall but also improve its score under the stringent Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) norms, which will kick in from April 1, 2027. Companies not meeting the norms will be liable to pay heavy fines.
Mahindra eyes EV penetration in high teens
Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO, automotive division, M&M, said, “EVs will be a critical piece to solve the CAFÉ constraint for us. Today, we have an 8% penetration of EVs in our portfolio. If our EV penetration is in the high teens, we will be in the shooting range of the CAFE norms.”
At the stated ramp-up in share, M&M will most likely lead the EV passenger segment in the next 2-3 years. Tata Motors has held on to its leadership position, though the gap in volumes between itself and its competition has dramatically slimmed down.
“The high teens target is when the CAFE norms take effect. The (penetration) range could range from 15% to 25% depending on how it plays out. We are building the production capacity for the Nu.IQ (platform),” Gollagunta added.
M&M has a capacity of 8,000 units a month for its battery electric vehicles. It is currently operating at 5,000 units per month across BE 6, XEV 9e, and XUV400.
In August, India’s electric passenger vehicle retail sales grew by a whopping 156% to nearly 17,400 units, according to data shared by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association. This gave the segment a share of 5.4%, which has been the highest for any month so far.
A more pocket-friendly range of Bolero
Gollagunta was talking on the sidelines of the launch of the new Bolero range, the best-selling brand for the company, clocking more than 100,000 units in volumes every year.
The price for the new Bolero starts at Rs 7.99 lakh (ex-showroom), and the newly added top-end B8 variant is priced at Rs 9.69 lakh (ex-showroom). The new Bolero Neo (a sub-4 meter) starts at Rs 8.49 lakh (ex-showroom), with the new top-end variant N11 available at Rs 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom).
With this, the entire range of Bolero is now priced at under Rs 10 lakh, helped by the revised rates of the goods and services tax (GST) brought into effect on September 22.