The Indian auto giant Mahindra will not prioritise hybridisation and instead remains committed to bringing battery electric vehicles to Australia as soon as possible.
Best known for its tractors and rugged utes, Mahindra has just rolled out its first two ground-up BEVs in India – the BE 6 and XEV 9e – with at least three more to follow soon.
It is understood that 2027 is shaping as the likely introduction timing for Mahindra EVs here.
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“In terms of timing it [the arrival of EVs in Australia] is not too far away,” Sachin Arolkar, head of international operations at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd told EV Central.
That Australia is, like India, a right hand drive market has helped push us to the top of the export heap for Mahindra’s startling new BEV family.
In fact it has declared Australia a priority export market overall as it seeks, like the many Chinese brands coming here, to carve out a significant chunk of local sales.
The target is becoming a top 15 seller in the Aussie market by 2030 – it currently averages about 4000 vehicles per year placing it around 30th.
Along with the BEVs, Mahindra will rely on a steady stream of orthodox ICE utes and SUVs to drive its Australian popularity.
But for now at least development of hybrids and plug-ins of all types are not as advanced and are taking a back seat. It’s a roll-out Mahindra is also adopting in its domestic market.
That’s despite the booming popularity of hybrids in Australia and the slow sales growth of EVs.
“Electric vehicles are the way we are going right now … those are our priority for Australia,” Arolkar said.
“Hybrids or any other technologies are being evaluated and at an appropriate stage could get into the pipeline.
“But right now we are focussing on ICE and adding the electric portfolio. That’s it.”
Arolkar said Australia’s new NVES CO2 reduction scheme was intrinsic to the company’s commitment to EVs.
EVs accrue credits under the scheme that help pay down fines incurred by Mahindra ICE vehicles. They can also be sold on to other auto companies for the same purpose.
Arolkar said Mahindra had several different ways it could commence its Aussie EV roll-out and that could impact launch timing.
“There are two or three things working at cross-purposes. One is to get an EV at the earliest, given the NVES and to expand our portfolio.
“The second is to say we should launch with some meat, so with two models. And that is contradicting the first one somewhat.
“There are multiple options being worked on.”
Mahindra opted to launch two vehicles at once in India, comprising one each from the BE (Born Electric) and XEV (an electric sub-brand inspired by the established XUV SUV line) families.
BE models are sportier, XEV Models more traditional, but both share the same Mahindra-developed INGLO BEV dedicated BEV architecture and have different aspects of their powertrains systems sourced from Volkswagen, French Supplier Valeo and BYD.
The BE 6 and XEV 9e are the first two of five 2022 INGLO BEV concepts to make it into production. Two more coming soon are reportedly named the XUV.e8 and XEV 7e.
A sixth model dubbed the B Rall E, which is an off-road version of the BE 6, is also reported to be under development.
A 2023 electric off-roader concept called the Thar.e is also expected to make it to production at some point. Its chunky design is also expected to influence future ICE models.
However, an electric version of the new XUV 3XO mini-SUV just launched in Australia as an ICE won’t be a candidate for Australia because Mahindra only wants to sell ground-up BEVs here.
“Born electric is the course we want to take for Australia,” Arolkar said. “It gives us far more options in terms of the portfolio reach.”
