Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will invest up to £ 20 million (Rs  200 crore) to develop the latest electric vehicle (EV) technology, the UK chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne said in Mumbai yesterday. Osborne added that a Mahindra vehicle could be on UK’s roads as early as 2015. Autocar Professional was unable to get a confirmation of this from an M&M spokesperson.

In terms of technology, this investment is significant and only reiterates Mahindra Reva’s commitment to the EV space. Earlier this year, Mahindra Reva indicated that it would export its first Verito EV to Bhutan and that could take place as early as September. The company hopes to position its vehicle as a taxi in the Himalayan kingdom.

M&M is likely to introduce an export model of its only EV offering – the e2o – in the UK. Incidentally, Nissan makes its all-electric Leaf, the world’s best-selling EV, in the UK. It is also targeting the Bhutan taxi market.

Some years ago, there were indications that Tata Motors was planning to launch an electric Indica in the UK but there seems to be no movement on that score thus far.