India’s electric car maker Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) is planning to get into a new business segment where it will operate electric cab services and supply parts to electric vehicle (EV) makers.
The automaker will turn its unit Mahindra Electric Mobility into a supplier of batteries, starter motors, power electronics and transmission to its parent and other vehicle makers.
In an interview with Mint, Pawan Goenka, MD of Mahindra said that Mobility Services will be its third business vertical. First two businesses are Mahindra Electric, which makes electric vehicle kits and Mahindra & Mahindra, which sells electric vehicles.
Though Goenka said Mahindra’s mobility service business will not be akin to that of ride-hailing firms Ola and Uber. The company will procure electric cars and caters to the mobility needs of corporate customers.
It will rather be best for the company to continue to work with service providers or we should also become a service provider, he said. The company sole objective is to sell more EVs.
It has been running pilot projects in few cities like Nagpur. It claims to have got positive feedback from drivers as well as customers. Though, less number of charging stations is still a hurdle for the industry.
Meanwhile, after Indian govt push for vehicles running on green technologies, many automakers have come forward. Maruti Suzuki India is searching for lithium suppliers for a battery plant in Gujarat.
Also read: Mahindra sells 600 electric cars in 7 months, to launch two new EVs soon
It’s planning to build a brand new electric car for India and working with its dealers to set up vehicle charging networks as part of its initiative to build electric car business portfolio.
Last month, the company made an announcement to make electric variants of almost all of its passenger vehicles.
The company is leading electric four-wheeler maker by sales. It sells around 2,500 e2O, REVA, and REVAi every year. Besides, Mahindra is reportedly working with Pininfarina, Italian car design company, for an electric luxury car.
It is also planning to bet big on battery-powered vehicles. The company had also undergone partnership with ride-hailing firms Ola and Uber to supply electric cars.
Earlier, Mahindra’s Chairman Anand Mahindra hailed the concept of making environment-friendly and clean technology vehicles. “This is the single biggest business opportunity for the next couple of decades”, he had said at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York last year.
