M&M Plans To Launch Five New Electric SUVs
Mahindra announced five new electric sport utility vehicles to be launched under two brands.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. announced five new electric sport utility vehicles for the Indian market under two brands as the company unveiled its electric mobility plans.
“By 2027, we expect that a quarter of the SUVs we sell will be electric,” Anish Shah, managing director and chief executive officer of Mahindra Group, said in a statement.
The five SUVs will include the XUV.e8 and the XUV.e9 under the existing XUV badge, with a twin-peak logo in copper. The rest will be under a new electric-only brand ‘BE’: the BE.05, BE.07 and BE.09.
M&M said the first four will be launched between 2024 and 2026. The first in line is the XUV.e8 by 2024-end, while the XUV.e9 will be the next to be launched in April 2025.
The company eyes October 2026 launch for the sports EV BE.05, while the BE.07 family vehicle is likely to be out in late 2026. The company didn’t share a timeline for the BE.09.
Rivals Hyundai Motor India Pvt. and Tata Motors Ltd. have already announced plans to launch multiple battery-powered models in a similar time period as Indian automakers firm up plans to transition towards electric mobility.
Mahindra plans to invest $1 billion (about Rs 8,000 crore) on its electric vehicle business between FY24 and FY27. In July, it raised Rs 1,925 crore from the UK’s development finance institution British International Investment for a new EV arm.
The auto major also announced a new INGLO EV platform. All EVs, including the five planned models, will be built on the platform that allows modular and scalable design along with a significant reduction in underbody weight.
The batteries will be based on LFP chemistry, a lithium-iron battery with iron phosphate as the cathode.
The batteries will be offered with options ranging from 60-80 kilowatt hour capacity, protected for 175 kW fast-charge and charging up to 80% in less than 30 minutes, the company said.