Mahindra to Invest ₹4,500 Crore in Developing Two New Electric Vehicle Brands.

Mahindra & Mahindra has announced a ₹4,500 crore investment to develop two ground-up electric vehicle (EV) models, BE 6e and XEV 9e, including production capacity at its Chakan-based facility. This forms part of the automaker’s ₹16,000 crore capex plan for its EV business spanning FY22 to FY27.

The Chakan plant will initially have an annual production capacity of 90,000 units for the two "Born Electric" models, with a potential scale-up to 1.2 lakh units per annum, according to Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and CEO for Mahindra’s Auto and Farm sectors.

The BE 6e and XEV 9e, unveiled earlier this week, will begin deliveries by February-March 2025. The BE 6e will have an ex-showroom starting price of ₹18.9 lakh and a range of 682 km, while the XEV 9e starts at ₹21.9 lakh with a 656 km range. Additional variant prices will be announced later.

Mahindra aims to position these EVs as aspirational yet accessible, targeting both domestic and global markets. Jejurikar emphasized the company’s phased market entry, prioritizing right-hand-drive markets overseas before expanding to left-hand-drive regions.

To enhance customer experience, Mahindra plans to recruit 500 specialists from premium and luxury brands for pre-purchase drives and deploy 400 technical experts supported by the Chennai-based Mahindra Research Valley.

In addition to creating lifestyle-oriented EVs, Mahindra plans to address pricing barriers to boost adoption, ensuring its offerings balance aspiration and affordability.

The company currently sells the XUV400 in the electric passenger vehicle segment and aims to roll out a comprehensive market strategy for its new models in January 2025.

HBL