Mahindra & Mahindra is betting big on electric vehicles, and the company's Managing Director & CEO, Dr Anish Shah has said that by the end of this decade, around 50 per cent of India's passenger vehicles will be all-electric. Speaking at the Pune Alternate Fuel Conclave, Shah said that the adoption of electric vehicles in India has been faster than expected, and the 50 per cent mark can be achieved even earlier if the supply chain issues are sorted, and the cost is brought down. In fact, Shah says that in all likelihood, electric vehicles could even account for more than 50 per cent of PV sales by 2030.
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Talking about the adoption of EVs at the conclave, Anish Shah said, "The shift is happening faster than we thought. By 2030, 50 per cent of cars sold will be EVs. That may move faster if we achieve cost parity and infrastructure keeps pace. We hope that the cost may reduce further, but infrastructure may take time. I won't be surprised if it is more than 50 per cent."
The share of electric three-wheelers penetration for Mahindra & Mahindra in Q1 of 2022 has jumped to almost 70 per cent
The head of Mahindra & Mahindra says that, at the moment, the electric vehicle industry has managed to achieve cost parity when it comes to two-wheelers and three-wheelers. And thanks to battery swapping technology, even range anxiety has been addressed in this segment. In fact, the share of electric three-wheelers penetration for Mahindra & Mahindra in Q1 of 2022 has jumped to almost 70 per cent. However, that's not the case with electric passenger vehicles. Shah says that the electric PV segment will reach an inflection point around 2025-27, as he believes it is difficult for a government to incentivise passenger electric vehicles and as an industry, the automakers will have to operate within that.
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Mahindra Group itself is investing over Rs. 3000 crore in the electric vehicle space, and plans to introduce 16 new electric vehicles by 2028, which will include 8 electric SUVs and 8 electric light commercial vehicles. In fact, the first set of EVs is slated to be previewed in July 2022, which is part of the company's Born Electric Vision (BEV). The company aims to look at achieving 20 per cent penetration in the passenger EV space from 2025-27, because that is when, Shah believes, the cost, volumes, and infrastructure will all start ramping up.
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Mahindra will showcase its new EVs,which is part of the company's Born Electric Vision (BEV) in July 2022
While EV certainly is the focus of the company, Anish Shah says that the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are crucial for Mahindra & Mahindra. Shah says that as a legacy company, Mahindra cannot ignore ICE cars. The carmaker has already launched the new-gen Thar and the XUV700 and is now gearing up for the launch of the new-gen Scorpio as well. So, currently, the company is invested in ICE vehicles, however, Shah says that all future investments will be on EVs. In fact, the company is also open to the spinning of the EV business into a separate subsidiary if that will serve a good purpose.
Source: ET Auto
