Mahindra Group is mulling the plan to locally manufacture electric vehicle batteries in India. For this, the homegrown automobile giant is toying with the idea of joining hands with global players, revealed the company's MD and CEO Anish Shah. In an interaction with PTI, Shah said that the automaker is looking for partnerships with global players for local production of battery cells in order to cater to the expected rise of demand for electric vehicles in the near future.

Despite having the first-mover advantage in the Indian electric car market, Mahindra Group has lost its position in the last couple of years. In a segment, where Tata Motors currently holds the lion's share, Mahindra has only one offering in the form of XUV400. However, the auto company is aiming to launch a product offensive as it has revealed. For its upcoming electric cars, Mahindra is planning to create a robust and comprehensive ecosystem, which includes local production of EV batteries.

Speaking on the strategy, Shah reportedly said that the company is closely looking at cell manufacturing locally in India. "One area that we continue to look at more closely is cell manufacturing and that is something where there are various considerations... if we feel it's essential for us, we will look at a partnership for cell manufacturing," he reportedly stated. He further said that the company is looking at finding a global technology partner. “We will look at a global technology partner, and potentially at private equity partners as well because we will not put the entire capital," he said.

Watch: Mahindra XUV400: Key things you should know

Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd (MEAL) aims to list by 2030

The Mahindra MD and CEO also said that the company is looking at a 2030 timeframe for the possible listing of its electric vehicle arm Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd (MEAL). He also stated that this will be a key part of the strategy to indigenously produce electric vehicle battery packs in India.

On plans to list MEAL, Shah stated that it is not going to happen in the next three to five years at least. The electric vehicle segment needs time to take off, he stated. "So this is something that we will probably look at in the 2030 timeframe or so," Shah reportedly noted. He also stated that India has shown the ability to leapfrog when it comes to shifting to new technologies, especially in the automotive segment.

Speaking further on this, he said that electric vehicles need to excite the customers at large. "We believe that the launch of our new electric vehicle models starting January 2025 would play a key role in this aspect," he said.

Key factors impacting growth of EVs in India

Shah also listed range anxiety and the high cost of EVs as some of the factors impacting the growth of the segment. "What is not in place today is EV charging and that has to develop now. It's the right time to do it because as we start seeing the demand coming for electrics, EV charging infrastructure has to grow at a much higher scale," Shah reportedly said.

He stated that India currently has something like 27,000 chargers today while the US has around 1.76 lakh chargers and China will have many multiples of that. "That is one big area of focus that will be required in India. Financing of EVs is the second area of focus," Shah said, while further adding, “We see our portfolio moving to 20-30 per cent electric by 2027...as charging infrastructure develops, more and more consumers will start getting into it. So we see this inflection point likely coming after about five years."

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