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Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Thursday said the company will launch the electric version of its mini sports utility vehicle (SUV), KUV100, at sub-₹9 lakh in the first quarter of the next financial year.
"We have the eKUV that will come up in the first quarter of the next financial year. Our focus is on shared mobility and, therefore, we want to make it affordable and price it at less than ₹9 lakh; you will see it at the upcoming Auto Expo," Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, M&M, said on the sidelines of an event here.
The company, which sells electric models such as the e-Verito and e2O, said with more manufacturers, including Tata, Hyundai, MG Motors and Maruti Suzuki, entering the segment, there will be a greater acceptance of electric vehicles (EVs) in the future.
He said the company is also working on an electric quadricycle, which will be launched towards the end of this year.
Quadricycle launch
"We have the Atom (quadricycle), which was displayed at the Auto Expo two years ago. This ilast mile connectivity four-wheeler will be launched in the third quarter of the coming financial year. And, it would probably redefine last mile connectivity,” Goenka said.
“The XUV300 electric will be launched in the 2021 calendar year and it will be our first EV for personal experience as a new segment,” he said, adding that M&M’s focus is on shared mobility right now, and is in tune with the government policy.
He said the company is working with state governments and fleet operators to make electric mobility viable. It has around 23,000 EVs on ground.
While stating that the government has done its bit to help e-mobility, Goenka said it was time for manufacturers to work towards reducing EV prices in order to make it viable for personal use.
“Government has done what needs to be done...the EV dream is not very far and with many players coming in, Tatas have announced their vehicles, Hyundai has launched the Kona, MG has announced its EV and Maruti has talked about its EV as well. With that, we will see more and more EVs coming in,” Goenka said.
It was now up to the companies to take it forward and make e-mobility affordable. Manufacturers need to reduce the prices of EVs by 8-10 per cent and M&M was working on it, Goenka said, adding that the company would like to reduce the price of the e-Verito to around ₹11 lakh from ₹12 lakh currently.
Partnership with Lithium
The company also said its partnership with Lithium Urban Technologies has crossed a milestone of 1,000 Mahindra electric vehicles in the Lithium fleet. The partnership started off with the purchase of the Mahindra e2o in 2015.
Both the companies in the electric mobility space had come together to offer convenient, affordable and zero-emission mobility for employee transportation.
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