One in every five vehicles of M&M will be electric by 2027

Gollagunta added the M&M is on track profitability projections

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on November 27 added a third electric vehicle model, XEV 9S, to its line-up. This is the first seven-seater electric SUV from the company, which it believes will appeal to Indian buyers who seek the two extra seats in the back of the vehicle.

In an interview to Moneycontrol, Nalinikanth Gollagunta, chief executive officer, automotive division, M&M, and executive director, Mahindra Electric Automobile, said the constant addition of new models will lead to progressive growth in the number of people opting for EVs. Edited excerpts of the interview:

They are an impact investor focused on sustainability. We got validation of our product and proposition. It is hard for me to say which way it will play out but as of now, these are the two investors (BII and Temasek) and we will work with them. Overall, they have invested Rs 3,050 crore in the company Mahindra Electric Automobile.

We are well on track on our projections. There is nothing that has surprised us negatively from what we had originally thought of. There is only a positive side to it.

We showcased that in South Africa. That was a concept vehicle, which has now evolved over a period of time. A version of that concept was seen on August 15, 2025 when the NU IQ products were showcased. The difference in between those two product sets was the realisation that you should have a hedge on both; a platform which can do those ICE and EV.

It is around 7-8 percentcurrently. The way we are seeing the numbers we think it will be higher than 20 percent in the next 18-24 months. NU IQ will have a major role to play in it. For production we operationalised 5,000 units a month for the first two products. With the XEV 9S it will go to 8,000. Line capacity is 10,000 a month. In Chakan we are adding another 240,000 a year, a bulk of which will be operationalised when the first product comes out which is 15-18 months away.

We have a very strong wedding season and it has led to a very strong demand for us. Because of the trailer situation last month, quite a bit of the demand spilled over to November. It has been a very confusing three months to watch the demand pattern. GST, festive and trailer shortage were all in the last month. Q4FY26 will give a clearer picture.

We are doing small batches of exports of EVs. There was an opportunity which came from our dealers in Nepal and so we started with that because it is a highly electrified market with 65-70% penetration. The traditional right-hand drive markets will be the first to target such as South Africa, Australia and the UK. We have to understand how the market works, how the dealership works. We have to establish the Mahindra brand.

Hybrid technology is closer to the technology powering an internal combustion engine (ICE), while range extenders are closer to electric vehicle technology. We are clear that EV is the end state and the government has made it clear to SIAM that form a policy perspective they want the EV. Even the CAFÉ 3 norms they put EV ahead of anything else. If it means that REEV has a value proposition, it is a closer journey for me to come down from EV. We don't see any reason for us to do that right now.