Mahindra & Mahindra has been one of the most aggressive companies in India on electric mobility business, but when it comes to the electric bus segment, the company is looking to take a backseat in the near future.
“We have a strong product portfolio in the truck and bus segment, we don’t need to strengthen it in the medium term. We have a lot of work to do and will improve our performance. We are not looking at entering the electric bus segment for STU orders. We have a relatively small – less than 5% – share in the bus segment. Our aim is to first consolidate our presence in the IC-bus segment,” says Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra on the sidelines of the financial results press conference.
The electric bus segment in India has primarily benefited from robust orders from State Transport Undertakings (STUs). In fact, from the established legacy player in the commercial vehicle space except for Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland’s Switch Mobility, the segment sees aggressiveness from new players like – PMI Electro Mobility, Olectra Greentech and JBM among others.
At present, there are more than 3,049 electric buses plying in India, and in another 2 years an additional 3,000-plus e-buses are expected to be operational under the FAME II scheme. This is in addition to the tenders STUs are issuing by themselves.
Lately, Mahindra has seen less than desired performance from its commercial vehicle range, especially in the M&HCV trucks and bus range. It comes as a no surprise that despite launching new products, Mahindra has struggled to make a mark in the segment which is dominated by Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland.
Jejurikar believes that the company can tun around the “Mahindra Truck & Business, we expect the industry to pickup and we have some very new good products as we move to the second phase of BS VI norms. We are in growth mode and all the issues have been taken care off.”