Competition has always made us stronger, says Mahindra Group's Anish Shah, as new players enter India

The XEV 9e is Mahindra's flagship electric SUV.

While competition always made Mahindra stronger in the past, the company is currently in a much better position in the electric vehicle (EV) segment with its electric SUVs, which stack up very well against the new rivals entering the market, according to Anish Shah, Group CEO and MD, Mahindra Group.

Mahindra offers three electric SUVs at present -- XUV400, BE 6 and XEV 9e. The XUV400 is based on the erstwhile internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered XUV300, which was the predecessor of the XUV 3XO. However, the BE 6 and the XEV 9e are electric-origin models, developed from the ground up as EVs.

For reference, the XUV400 is priced between Rs 15.49 lakh and Rs 17.69 lakh, the BE 6 between Rs 18.90 lakh and Rs 27.65 lakh and the XEV 9e between Rs 21.90 lakh and Rs 31.25 lakh. All the prices are ex-showroom.

The homegrown auto major offers ICE SUVs such as the Bolero, Bolero Neo, XUV 3XO, Thar, Thar Roxx, Scorpio Classic, Scorpio-N and XUV700.

In Q1 FY26, Mahindra's passenger vehicle (PV) volumes rose 22.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) at 1,52,067 units from 1,24,248 units in the year-ago quarter.

The company's electric SUV penetration in its PV volumes stood at 7.8% in the June quarter, as against the industry's 5.6%. Also, the company had an electric SUV volume market share of 31.8% during the April-June period.

In terms of revenue market share in Q1 FY26, Mahindra was way ahead of the competition at 44.3% in electric SUVs and 40.9% in electric PVs.

While the electric models still account for less than 5% of the total PVs sold in the domestic market, the segment is expected to get a much-needed boost from the arrival of new players like the US EV major Tesla and the Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast, and introduction of fresh models from the existing companies.

Tesla launched the Model Y in India earlier this month at a starting price of Rs 59.89 lakh (ex-showroom). The Model Y is being imported as a completely built unit (CBU), thus attracting a basic customs duty (BCD) of 70%.

VinFast, which has opened bookings for the VF 6 and the VF 7 electric SUVs, will locally assemble both models at its Thoothukudi plant in Tamil Nadu, resulting in relatively affordable pricing.

However, with a strong EV portfolio of its own and more models set to arrive in the near future, Mahindra is not perturbed by the competition now.

When asked about growing competition in the EV segment during Mahindra's Q1 results media briefing, Shah said: "We have had this question on competition for a few decades now. And what we have seen is that competition has always made us stronger."

"One difference that we see this time is that usually in the past, when the competition came in, we had to improve our offerings, which we did, and we could combat the competition well. This time, with the electric models that we have, our products really stack up very well against the competition coming in," he added.

Shah said that Mahindra is in a better position to start with, and that gives the company a lot more confidence based on what it has achieved over the last few years. "And I would dare say, maintain, and potentially grow market share as well," he observed.

When new players come in, the market share gets diluted from a volume standpoint, said Rajesh Jejurikar, ED and CEO, Auto and Farm Sector, Mahindra, adding that, hence, we believe that our goal should be around the revenue market share.

"Like what we have seen with the entry of new players over the last two quarters, the EV penetration has started to move up. As more players come in, the EV penetration will go up. That is fundamentally the right direction for the country. We strongly endorse the EV journey that the government of India has laid out. We are seeing very good progress with new players coming in," Jejurikar pointed.

Jejurikar said that the charging ecosystem is also getting much more stable. "There are very strong plans that the government has to implement through the Ministry of Heavy Industries and a few other partners in the ecosystem to execute a stronger charging infrastructure," he noted.