Pininfarina strikes 65 million euro deal with Hong Kong's Hybrid Kinetic

Leading global design house Pininfarina SpA has signed a trade agreement with Hybrid Kinetic Group Limited, a Hong Kong-based company which specialises in the business of electric cars. This deal could also help the Mahindra Group's electric mobility drive.

According to the agreement, Pininfarina will support Hybrid Kinetic in the turnkey development of an electric car from the styling concept and development of the vehicle to the engineering development and virtual and physical validation for series production. The collaboration agreement, worth about 65 million euros (Rs 496 crore), will have a total duration of 46 months.

Silvio Pietro Angori, CEO of the Pininfarina Group, commented: "This agreement confirms the primacy of our company in the world of automotive design, engineering and production of small series at a time of great change in the automotive world. Synergies with a larger group such as Tech Mahindra are strengthening our business opportunities." The Mumbai-based Mahindra Group had acquired Pininfarina through its firms Tech Mahindra and Mahindra & Mahindra in December 2015.

Angori says that as a result of being a part of the Mahindra Group Pininfarina is now more competitive as it has access to a wider range of world-class skills at lower costs. This enables the iconic design house to offer fully comprehensive design and engineering services.

Pininfarina also sees synergies with Tech Mahindra which will enable it to "compete with more traditional players in the domain of electric and hybrid platforms, autonomous driving and connected cars". "The combination of Italian design from Pininfarina and of best competitive engineering from Tech Mahindra will make a major difference in a wide range of industries,” says Angori.

The first product of the agreement between Hybrid Kinetic and Pininfarina is the H600 concept which will debut at the Geneva Motor Show on March 7, 2017. The H600a is a luxury sedan concept with new energy propulsion which is 'both elegant and comfortable, a perfect combination of pure design and eco-friendly technology'.

Also read: Exclusive interview with Silvio Pietro Angori, CEO, Pininfarina