M&M unveils new EV manufacturing and battery assembly unit near Pune, allocates Rs 4,500 crore

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has on January 8 unveiled a new dedicated EV manufacturing and battery assembly facility at its existing plant at Chakan, near Maharashtra's Pune. The facility will be a “fully integrated ecosystem dedicated to producing Electric Origin SUVs”, M&M said in an exchange filing.

“Strategically located within the company’s 2.83 square km Chakan manufacturing hub—one of India’s largest greenfield projects, a water-positive facility- and 100% reliant on renewable energy —the new plant for EV operations underscores Mahindra’s commitment to innovation and sustainable manufacturing,” the automaker said in its statement.

The EV plant is expected to have a footprint of around 88,000 square metre for the EV domain and is set to utilise fully automated press shop and an AI-driven body shop. Mahindra added that it will also feature "India’s most sophisticated robotic paint shops to optimise quality and efficiency". Additionally, the plant will deploy over 500 robots.

Mahindra said Rs 4,500 crore has been allocated for this plant, out of the total Rs 16,000 crores planned in the FY 2021-22 to FY 2026-27 investment cycle. This includes powertrain development, two product top hats including software, and tech and manufacturing capacity.