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Volkswagen and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) have announced a partnership to explore the use of MEB (modular electric drive matrix) electric components for Mahindra’s new “Born Electric Platform.”
The two auto majors have signed a partnering agreement on Thursday in Chennai to evaluate the scope of collaboration.
Mahindra intends to equip its “Born Electric Platform” with MEB electric components such as electric motors, battery system components and battery cells.
The agreement further indicates binding rules for the evaluation phase as well as the non-binding scope of supply.
“The binding supply agreement will be negotiated in a continued constructive and legally compliant way to conclude by the end of 2022,” the companies have said.
The MEB electric platform, which has been designed as an open vehicle platform, and its components enable car manufacturers to build electrified vehicles, quickly and cost-effectively.
The two companies have the shared objective of electrifying the Indian automotive market.
Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board of Management member for Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components, said, “Mahindra is a pioneer in the electric mobility space in India and a great partner for our MEB Electric Platform. Together with Mahindra, we want to contribute significantly to the electrification of India, a huge automotive market with enormous growth potential and high relevance for climate protection.”
“It’s another proof that the MEB is both technologically state of the art and highly competitive in terms of cost. The MEB is thus progressively developing into the leading open platform for e-mobility, generating significant volume and economies of scale. That’s crucial for every company in the EV world and the key to competitive solutions for our customers,” added Schmall.
Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto and Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said: “We are very pleased to have Volkswagen, a significant global investor in the electric mobility space, as a strategic partner in achieving our ambitious Born Electric Vison. The complementarity of their extensive technology, innovation, and vertical integration in supply chains, will provide a framework to develop our next gen “Born Electric Platform”, to be revealed soon in Oxfordshire UK. Our teams across India, UK and Detroit are passionately creating a breath-taking future.”
Currently, Volkswagen’s MEB Electric Platform is used by the Group brands Volkswagen, Audi, SKODA and SEAT/CUPRA as well as external partners. Responsibility for these partnerships has been assigned to the “Platform Business” unit created specifically for this purpose.
India is one of the global top five automotive markets with about three million vehicles per year. Current forecasts expect the market to grow to up to five million vehicles by 2030.
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