Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which rolled out its all-electric Supro cargo and passenger van in Delhi at an on-road price of Rs 8.75 lakh for the passenger version and Rs 8.50 lakh for the cargo variant, will be first marketing them as a pilot in Delhi.

In the capital city, electric and hybrid vehicles benefit from an additional Rs 150,000 tax exemption and attract a lower VAT of 5 percent in addition to the government’s FAME incentive of Rs 130,000 offered under the commercial vehicle nomenclature. The FAME incentive on passenger cars runs into Rs 120,000 with VAT ranging around 12.5 percent in various states.

Among other states where the eSupro will be rolled out initially will be Karnataka and Maharashtra where VAT has been normalised. Mahindra also plans to sell its eSupro through the e-commerce, courier service and through transportation companies for intra-city use.

Powered by a lithium ion battery, which has been imported from China, the majority of the van’s electric powertrain has been sourced from overseas.

Arvind Mathew, CEO of Mahindra Electric, told Autocar Professional that the battery has a complete lifespan of 3,000 cycles and costs Rs 2.5 lakh. However, he maintained that it could not be considered expensive as it is replaces the diesel engine and there are no plans for localisation of these components. The battery constitutes about 45 percent of the drivetrain besides which the traction motor and chargers are also imported.

While the company is waiting for the government to install the necessary charging infrastructure for batteries, Mathew admitted that in Europe there is a fairly well-developed electric passenger transport system albeit the electric cargo system was not so well developed.

The expectation is that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will grow at a CAGR of 35 percent globally over the next five years and the company is optimistic of tapping this growth potential.

Meanwhile, the emission-free eSupro van has a direct drive transmission with a single-speed gearbox and advanced speed management of the motor that allows easy manoeuvrability in traffic snarls. The e-van can be charged at home by plugging it into a 15amp plug point and getting a full charge in 8 hours and 45 minutes. The eSupro has a top speed of 60km per hour and can run 112km on a full charge.

Regenerative braking technology charges the van’s battery every time the brakes are applied with an emergency Revive R feature that gives 7km of extra range once it runs out of charge.

While the eSupro will be made at the company’s Pune manufacturing facility, its electric kits will come from the Mahindra Electric e20 plant in Bangalore.

The company maintains its earlier electric vehicles – e20, e-Verito – are doing well and have mustered sufficient sales volumes to be optimistic about the numbers for the e-Supro.

It’s only when the eSupro sees higher sales volumes that economies of scale could likely to bring down the prices.