Cell localisation in India is under ‘very active consideration’: Rajesh Jejurikar

Having committed over Rs 12,000 crore to its electric vehicle business, Mahindra & Mahindra is actively considering cell localisation in the country. 

During a media interaction following the Q4 FY24 earnings, Rajesh Jejurikar, ED and CEO of the Auto and Farm business at Mahindra & Mahindra highlighted the company's proactive stance, stating that the possibility of cell localisation in India is currently under 'very active consideration.'

“We have said in the past that we are actively looking at cell localisation, and there is a conversation we are having with that company in that space, and that conversation continues, so it is very much on the table, by way of a possibility,” he added. 

The company on Thursday announced plans to launch 7 battery electric vehicles by the end of the decade and has guided for a penetration of 20-30% of its total sales to come from zero-emission vehicles. 

Mahindra & Mahindra has already partnered with multiple battery companies, such as Volkswagen, BYD, LG Chem, and Farasis, to power its EV portfolio. 

While Jejurikar was non-commital on the partner for cell localisation, in the past, Volkswagen Group top executives have said that they are open to localising cells in India along with M&M. 

Mahindra was also among the 18 companies that participated in the recently held pre-bid meeting for battery PLI, for setting up 10 GWh battery manufacturing facilities under the PLI Scheme. Sops worth Rs 3,620 crore are being offered in this round.

When Mahindra announced its partnership with VW Group in London in 2022 had said that the scope of cooperation was not limited to sourcing and components, hinting that even joint product development was a possibility. 

Autocar India had exclusively reported that building on the strong EV component sourcing partnership it has forged with the Volkswagen Group, both partners were exploring the joint development of a budget EV with the Group brand Skoda for the India and global markets.