Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has emerged as one of the leading market players in the Electric-Vehicle (EV) field. E-Vehicle has become the buzzing word in the auto industry following the statement of Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari that India plans to switch “one hundred percent” to Electric-Vehicles by 2030.

Ambitious targets

The Mahindra group entered the Indian electric vehicle market only in 2001 with the launch of its Reva model which was revamped and rebranded in 2013 as e2o. Since then, the company has made remarkable progress in the electric-vehicle segment with the back to back launches of new models like e-Verito and e-alpha. M&M was successful in sharing the order of 500 E-Vehicles with Tata Motors which was placed by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) by slashing the prices of its model e-Verito to make it competitive to Tata’s e-Tigor.

Pawan Goenka, the Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, tagged the target as “aspirational”. He added that such clarity of objective and a set time-frame demonstrates the government’s resolve on deliverance. Further, the company has announced that it will invest between Rs 3,500 crore and Rs 4,000 crore in the next five years to ramp up its electric vehicles division, which is nearly eight times as much as it has put into this business so far.

Towards the goals

Recently, the group has launched an e-rickshaw, the E-Alpha, which is powered by a 120 Ah battery and can travel up to 85 km on a single charge with a top speed of 25 Kmph. The e-alpha mini model, which is a five-seater, has been priced at Rs 1.12 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. Mahindra is currently offering a two years vehicle warranty, low down payment, and attractive EMI, along with one free battery replacement offer on the model, which is soon going to be launched in other metro cities of India.

e-Verito, a four-wheeler model of Mahindra in the electric sedan segment, is powered by a 3-phase 72V induction motor, and a 200Ah Li-ion battery. The model is priced at Rs. 9.5-11 with a top speed of 86 Kmph claimed by Mahindra. The Mahindra Electric Verito is a 100 percent zero emission, green vehicle, and can travel for 110 km on a single charge that takes around one hour and 45 minutes. Also, the model offers clutch-free driving with a running cost of just Rs. 1.15 per km, which makes it an attractive choice to the consumer.

Teaming up for better results

In a major development, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd have recently announced a partnership with Ford Motor Co. to cooperate in areas, including driverless and electric cars. Anand Mahindra, the group chairman, has termed the EV sector as the single largest opportunity to the auto industry for the next couple of decades. The Mahindra Group has recently announced plans to enter the Indian cab aggregator market against competitors like Uber and Ola. The fact that electric vehicles will reduce the cost of travel, especially for taxis, would work as an added advantage in favour of Mahindra, as it plans to enter into the burgeoning ride-hailing space with its fleet of electric vehicle cars. Notably, Mahindra Electric, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has already announced that it will begin sales of electric buses in 2018. It has also struck up a partnership with Ola to provide it with 100 of their e2o hatchbacks.

A clearer policy thrust of the government, supportive tax policies, thriving domestic and global markets for EVs, developing electric-infrastructure, and addressing serious environmental concerns, all these factors justify the aggressive stand taken by the Mahindra group in the E-vehicle space. It places its future on one of the brightest spots of the rapidly growing global EV industry.

The article was originally published at Qrius.