Mahindra & Mahindra has introduced its two new sub-brands XEV and BE that are dedicated to electric cars. The homegrown carmaker has stated that it will sell the new models under the newly introduced sub-brands through the company's existing retail network, which will allow the OEM to sell all its vehicles under one roof. Mahindra's decision comes at a time when its rival Tata Motors launched a separate retail network to sell its electric cars.

Mahindra, which sells SUVs like Thar and Scorpio, has now expanded its electric vehicle range with the launch of two all-new ground-up models BE 6e and XEV 9e, which will be sold alongside the Mahindra XUV400. The deliveries of newly launched electric SUVs - BE 6e and XEV 9e are expected to commence in February-March next year.

Speaking of the company's decision, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Executive Director and CEO for auto and farm sectors Rajesh Jejurikar said that one of the reasons why the automaker wants to keep the sales channel the same is because it wants to give the customer a choice between ICE (internal combustion engine cars) and EVs, PTI has reported.

Mahindra has no plan to create EV-only retail channel

Elaborating on the reasons for not having a separate retail network for EVs, Jejurikar said, “For a customer to come into our outlet, they should see all the products so that they can then choose, and sometimes they will take more than one (model). So this is one way how demand gets generated. So we really don't want to be in a situation where we isolate right now. Instead, we want to give customers the choice to choose."

He also noted that the auto company is creating a specialised team at the sales outlets to take care of electric vehicle sales and service. "We are hiring specialist sales people with experience in luxury and premium brands. Similarly, for our workshops, we are hiring specialist technical talent who are capable of addressing issues," Jejurikar reportedly said. Interestingly, Mahindra has more than 1,370 sales and around 1,100 service touchpoints across India.

Mahindra to focus on domestic market first for XEV and BE brands

Speaking on the export potential of the newly introduced XEV and Born Electric (BE) brands, the Mahindra top official noted that the company would focus on catering to the demand in the domestic market first. "We would first look at India, and kind of make sure we are successful here, put all our attention here. Then we want to look at western right-hand drive markets, and then over a period of time, left-hand drive western world markets," Jejurikar reportedly stated.

The OEM has stated that it created a production capacity of 90,000 units per annum at its Chakan-based plant for BE 6e and XEV 9e, which it aims to further scale up to 1.2 lakh units per year.

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