Anand Mahindra, the Chairman of Mahindra Group, talks about 'India Global Business' through the organization's most current automotive alliance with Italy's Automobili Pininfarina and how it affects the future of electric vehicles all around the world.
How Mahindra's new Italian association will affect the electric vehicle (EV) sector globally?
The Mahindra Group is really dedicated to sustainability and we accept that electric mobility will be a significant advance towards it. We have been working vigorously to develop ourselves as worldwide pioneers in the EV space, and Automobili Pininfarina (AP) is the latest addition to the growing footprint of Mahindra in the same.
With Automobili Pininfarina we are uniting the two best worlds- heritage and substance just as advancement and supportability, improved with the most recent EV technologies, conveying what we call - genuine objects of desire.
The Automobili Pininfarina tie-up will lead to a sustainable luxury car brand, unique and first of its kind. Through AP, we see ourselves building our strengths in the higher end, luxury vehicle market and we will be targeting geographies accordingly.
How has the worldwide footprint of the organization helped shape this vision?
Our vision of being a worldwide leader in EVs will possibly work out when we create strengths in the Indian market context as well as beyond. To support this vision, a lot of our new acquisitions in the EV space are based outside of India. With Mahindra Electric we are reinforcing our situation as the pioneer in India, our home ground, and with all other worldwide players, we are further building on our technical expertise.
We are developing state-of-the-art facilities in India which will help us achieve synergies across our own global organisations as well as fulfil our India ambition. The association between SsangYong and Mahindra Electric will also help develop our footprint in overseas markets. The fact that we are one of the founding members of the Formula E electric championship also adds to the confidence we have in our technological prowess. When combined, our varied EV organisations will make Mahindra one of the strongest EV players across the globe.
What is a portion of the features of the organization's likely arrangements?
At Mahindra, we are hoping to build up our ability with a 360-degree approach. We are working enthusiastically on technology advancement through in-house R&D just as basic worldwide partners. We mean to offer a complete portfolio of vehicles from two and three-wheelers to buses and even high-end objects of desire.
In the Indian context, our focus now is on delivering accessible and affordable EV technology and we will do this by offering state-of-the-art mass mobility products starting from electric three-wheelers to electric buses, a few of which were also unveiled at the recent Auto Expo in India.
Our aim is to encourage the adoption of EVs as well as to address key societal issues like pollution in our cities. To support the scale we are expecting, on both the manufacturing and technology front, we have also announced an additional investment of Rs 900 crores ($134mn) in the EV business in India. We are also exploring several other business verticals which are an offshoot of the EV business.
Courtesy: indiaglobalbusiness