Committed to UVs amid expansion in EV space, says M&M

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) remains steadfastly committed to the utility vehicles segment going forward, and the newly born EVs will also continue to remain in the passenger vehicle segment, an official said on Monday.

Given the trend from April to February, the automaker is poised to cross the 8 lakh mark in the current fiscal, against 6.9 lakh units in FY'23, the official said.

"In the last 11 months, we have sold 7.56 lakh units in passenger, commercial including three-wheelers. The trend indicates we are crossing the eight lakh mark by March 2024," M&M's national sales head Baneswar Banerjee told PTI on the sidelines of the launch of a dealership by Landmark group.

The company without any timeline stated that it will introduce three pure electric utility vehicles, amid the EV charging ecosystem still evolving in the country.

The company currently has one utility vehicle, the XUV 400, in the EV segment. The new models will be on an all-new EV platform, which is termed as born EV but continue to be in the UVs and SUVs.

"We will continue to focus solely on utility vehicles segment in the passenger car segment, even as we aggressively pursue pure EV models," Banerjee said.

He mentioned that the eight lakh units sales milestone in this fiscal includes all passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and even three-wheelers. Mahindra's SUV sales year-on-year jumped 40 per cent in February to 42,401 units, and traction is expected to continue in March, according to officials.

Banerjee did not provide any timeline for the launch of the all-new platform EVs but hinted that at least one is expected early next fiscal. He expects robust demand for electric UVs and SUVs as EV charging stations continue to expand.

The company is evaluating new alternate fuels, including hydrogen and LNG. Banerjee expressed high expectations from the EV lineup in terms of products and investment.