M&M's First NU_IQ Model To Roll Out From Chakan In 2027; 7,000 Units Monthly Capacity Ramp-up Is Underway

To debottleneck its current plant capacity, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has devised a calibrated capacity expansion plan across its Nashik and Chakan plants. Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director & CEO (Auto and Farm Sector), Mahindra & Mahindra, said capacity expansion will be phased over the next few years.

“In the calendar year 2026, we want to increase both ICE and EV capacity. We will see more de-bottlenecking in Chakan and Nashik. In CY 2027, we would see the NU_IQ platform’s first product start coming out of Chakan. So, we would see a capacity increase happening in Chakan to enable the first lot of it to come out in CY 2028,” he said.

The company is working on unlocking incremental capacity through targeted debottlenecking. “What we're trying to do is look for debottlenecking in specific areas, either in our own plant or some engine capacities related to either suppliers or ourselves. And we believe that this will unlock maybe 3,000 to 5,000 of additional capacity per month for existing products on the ICE side. Of course, we are adding another 3,000 to 4,000 capacity during the course of this year for the BEV range, which is specifically 9S,” he said.

He added that by August or September, the company aims to increase 3,000 to 5,000 capacity of existing ICE products between Chakan and Nashik. “We also hope to add 3,000 to 4,000 of EV capacity through 9S, which really increases our stated capacity for ICE plus EV in FY27 by about 6,000 to 7,000 a month. We were not fully utilizing the capacity of 7OO, which we hope to do, so that there's another upside of 3,000 based on the demand that we are seeing of 7XO,” he adds.

The company will establish its largest integrated manufacturing facility in Nagpur, Maharashtra, with a combined annual capacity of 6 lakh units, including 5 lakh vehicles and 1 lakh tractors, as it looks to scale up production across internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicle (EV) portfolios, with an investment of ₹15,000 crore for the project. He added that the Nagpur plant will be designed for modular expansion. It will support Mahindra Auto’s next-generation platforms, including the NU_IQ architecture, and will be capable of manufacturing vehicles across ICE, EV, and future powertrains for both domestic and global markets.

Vision X to be built at Nagpur

On the rollout plan for products under the NU_IQ platform, including Vision S, Vision T, and Vision X, Jejurikar said that the first product will debut from Chakan in 2027. “The first lot of the NU_IQ platform will come out in 2027 from Chakan. That's where we've made the first phase one of the capacity increase for that portfolio products. The Vision X will certainly come from the new Nagpur plant,” he said.

He added that production of Vision S and Vision T could also be partially allocated to Nagpur as capacity scales up. “Some of the increased capacity for the Vision S and Vision T also will have the ability to come from Nagpur. The fine-tuning of how the capacities will be shared across new products, announced products, and existing products is something that we'll do over the next 2–3 months. But broadly, the direction is auto capacity will go to 500,000 per annum and tractor capacity will go to 100,000 per annum,” he adds.

Near-term debottlenecking at Chakan, Nashik

For FY26, M&M’s monthly exit capacity stands at 56,500 units for utility vehicles, 8,000 units for operational EV capacity, and 29,500 units for commercial vehicles. Jejurikar said strong demand has led to capacity constraints across key models. “The quarter overall demand outlook right now seems very robust, and we would expect to see high growth rates for the industry as well for us. I think everyone is going to be constrained by capacity because the demand right now is probably stronger than the way supply is able to ramp up,” he said.

He added that urgently the company is trying to solve for capacity expansion of the 3XO, which is also getting very good traction in export markets. “Additionally, Bolero and Bolero Neo both got very good responses after the refresh. So, that's at the limit of capacity. And some of the Nashik models, Scorpio N, are doing extremely well. 7XO has got a very good response and the full capacity is going to be consumed, which is close to 9,000 to 10,000,” he said.

Strong Q3 performance

M&M reported a 33 per cent increase in standalone profit after tax at ₹3,931 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, compared to ₹2,964 crore in the same period last year. The automotive division posted revenue of ₹28,361 crore and PBIT of ₹2,684 crore, translating into a 9.5 per cent margin. The company sold 3,02,238 vehicles during the quarter, marking a 23 per cent year-on-year increase.

With demand robust across refreshed and new SUVs, and EV capacity ramping up, the Nagpur facility is set to play a central role in Mahindra’s next phase of growth in both India and global markets, Jejurikar said.