Mahindra rules out introducing electric version of KUV100

(PC-Shifting gears)

Mahindra & Mahindra, the automobile manufacturer that has lined up eight electric cars by 2027, will not introduce an electric version of the KUV100, a top executive said.

“It is unlikely that we will launch any electric SUV under Rs 10 lakh. So eKUV100 is ruled out,” Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director – auto and farm sectors at Mahindra Group, told reporters at an earnings press conference. He didn’t cite any reasons.

However, analysts reckoned the Mumbai-based automaker aims to cater to individual buyers who are looking for aspirational cars rather than fleet operators who want to buy sub-Rs 10 lakh vehicles.

There had been speculation that the electric variant of the KUV100, once the compact SUV is launched, would take on Tata Motors’ yet-to-be-introduced Punch EV, priced in the range of Rs. 8.25-10 lakh.

M&M said February 10 that its standalone net profit rose 13.5 percent to Rs 1,528 crore and revenue climbed 41 percent to Rs 21,654 crore during the third quarter of FY23, aided by strong auto sales.

A pre-production version of the e-KUV100, which was unveiled at Auto Expo’20, was initially scheduled for a Q1 FY20 rollout. The launch was reportedly postponed many times due to Covid, battery sourcing and other issues. M&M has officially not shared a reason for the delay in the rollout.

Value proposition

“In phase one, considering the taxation structure, OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are offering EVs in compact and midsize segments so that they can offer a value proposition to the consumer. Also, this category of consumer is highly aspirational and wants to experiment and may also have dedicated parking space,” said Puneet Gupta, Auto Analyst from S&P Automotive. “In phase two, mini e-cars will make sense when battery prices come down and localisation takes off under PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme.”

M&M currently sells the XUV400, its first all-electric SUV that was launched in January at an introductory price of Rs 16.99 lakh to Rs 18.99 lakh (both prices ex-showroom) for the first 5,000 bookings. It received bookings for 10,000 units in the first four days and 15,000 as of February 10.

M&M has unveiled five electric SUVs, which will be categorised under two brands – XUV and BE (Born Electric). Of the five unveiled models named XUV.e8, XUV.e9, BE.05, BE.07 and BE.09, the first four will be made available in the domestic market from 2024 to 2026.

A quarter of the company’s  SUV portfolio will be electric vehicles by 2027.

“As I mentioned earlier, 20-30 percent of our SUV sales by 2027 would be electric. So that translates to… 15,000-20,000 (units) a month or around 200,000 a year approximately. Our capacities planned would be much higher than the total numbers that we are targeting,” Jejurikar said.

M&M said it would invest Rs 10,000 crore over seven to eight years to set up a manufacturing facility in Pune and towards development and production of its BE vehicles. The investment has been approved under the Maharashtra government’s industrial promotion scheme for electric vehicles.

The M&M stock price traded at  Rs 1,367 on the NSE at 02:25PM, up by Rs 13.55 from a day earlier.