Ford Motor and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) Ltd are in talks to build the new electric sedan.
Both the companies are looking to get together to take advantage of electric vehicles opportunity in India. While Mahindra would like to procure a vehicle platform on which the Mumbai-based company aims to build an all new electric sedan, Ford will in return get electric vehicle technologies from Mahindra. The technologies will used in entry-levels cars such as Figo and Aspire, according to a Mint report.
Pawan Goenka, who is the managing director of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., has inspected the platform while signing off on a partnership with Ford last month, added the report.
“Ford will get the electric technology of strategic alliance’s the only point of discussion in that direction,” an anonymous person close to the deal said.
In India, Ford Motor has developed a platform Ka, on which it has built cars such as hatchback Figo and sub-4 metre sedan. However, nor Ford Motor neither Mahindra spokespersons have confirmed or commented on the report.
On Sept 19, both the companies said that they exploring strategic alliances to leverage each other’s strengths.
The areas of potential cooperation include mobility programmes, connected vehicle projects, electrification, product development, sourcing and commercial efficiencies, distribution within India to improve Ford’s reach and into global emerging markets to scale up Mahindra’s network.
India is expected to become the second-largest passenger vehicle market by 2026 with the annual volume of 13.4 million units per year (if the local economy grows at an annual pace of 7.5%), according to the Indian government. The govt has declared that it wants complete shift to be electric vehicles economy from current diesel and petrol vehicles.
Earlier, Mahindra lost out to its rival Tata Motors Ltd for a government contract of 500 electric vehicles but later said it will match the lowest bid of Rs 10.16 lakh per vehicle made by Tata Motors Ltd as it wanted to be part of the government’s electric mobility mission.
Mahindra will lose about Rs 3 crore on the 150 electric sedans that it will supply to the government. Mahindra will supply these electric vehicles in phase I to State-run Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) by November 30.
After emerging as the second lowest bidder in a mega tender process to procure 10,000 electric vehicles, Mahindra and Mahindra Chairman Anand Mahindra said that they will ensure delivery of 150 EVs to EESL in phase I. As per the bidding, first 500 e-cars will be supplied to EESL in November 2017 and the rest 9,500 EVs will be delivered in the second phase.
States like Gujarat, Karnataka, and Telangana have swung into action to capture the new investment involving automobile makers for manufacturing clean vehicles.
