Having committed over Rs 12,000 crore to its electric vehicle business, Mahindra & Mahindra is now actively considering localising batteries in the country. During a media interaction following the Q4 FY24 earnings, Rajesh Jejurikar, ED and CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra Auto and Farm business, highlighted the company's proactive stance and stated that the possibility of cell localisation is 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,” he added.
- Mahindra plans seven new EVs contributing to 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 seven battery electric vehicles by the end of the decade, and aims for them to make up 20-30 percent of Mahindra’s total sales.
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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 setting up 10 GWh battery manufacturing facilities under the PLI Scheme. Sops worth Rs 3,620 crore are being offered in this round.
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When Mahindra announced its partnership with VW Group in London in 2022, its 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
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