Mahindra signs MoU with Maharashtra government for electric mobility

Mahindra & Mahindra, today signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Maharashtra government, to further its next phase of expansion in electric vehicles (EVs) in line with the government’s pursuit for rapid adoption of EVs for private use as well as public (shared mobility).

Under the aegis of the first MoU, the company will make efforts to become fully electric ready by further investing in its Chakan plant for the manufacture of EVs, e-motor, controller, battery pack and other electric vehicle components for multiple mobility applications related to battery pack assembly of EVs. As part of this expansion plan, the company will invest an additional Rs 500 crore.

L-R: Mahesh Babu, CEO of Mahindra Electric mobility, Greg Moran, co-founder & CEO of Zoomcar with Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group

The second MoU underlines the intent to explore a strategic alliance to enable Mahindra to deploy EVs across key cities in Maharashtra.  Towards this, both the company and the government will work closely with various fleet partners, taxi aggregators, logistics companies, amongst others to deploy 1,000 electric cars over the next one year.

The MoUs were signed by chief secretary and additional chief secretary, Industries on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra and Dr Pawan Goenka, managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra in the presence of the chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis; Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan; Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra Group  and other dignitaries.  The joint declarations have been signed to further the government's vision to make Maharashtra a globally competitive state for EVs and component manufacture and to maximise the adoption of EVs in the state.

Dr Pawan Goenka, MD of Mahindra & Mahindra with a Mahindra Verito EV and Mahindra E20 at the event. 

Speaking on the expansion plans and deployment of EVs, Dr Pawan Goenka, said, "We are delighted to announce the next phase of our EV expansion plans at Chakan and would like to thank the government of Maharashtra for their continuous and unstinted support. At Mahindra, we have pioneered the sustainable mobility cause in India and have remained committed to it for almost a decade. Now, we are investing further in next-generation EV technology solutions and are actively engaging with the ecosystem stakeholders, both private and public to drive faster adoption of electric vehicles. The government of Maharashtra recognises this fact and we are delighted to make the state a key partner in our growth over the coming years.”

The first deployment of EVs, as part of the MoU, will see 25 Mahindra e2oPlus ported on the Zoomcar platform in Mumbai, on the occasion of World Environment Day. The range of applications for the deployment of these EVs across the key cities of the state will include employee transport between office and home for corporates, taxi-hailing, ride sharing and self-drive car rental amongst others.

The company will also liaison with technology partners for the motor controller, power electronics, battery pack, drivetrain and other parts and components, which are currently being imported. Mahindra will supply EV battery pack, motors and controllers, power electronics, battery pack, drivetrain, other parts/components of EVs, battery assembly and electric vehicles to MVML and M&M plants and other Group companies as well as to other customers. To support e-mobility in the state the Maharashtra government has conferred the status of ‘Pioneer Mega Project’ to this proposed expansion.  

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