Mahindra is planning to develop an electric hatchback from scratch to retain its first mover advantage in the Indian EV segment. The e2O range is a bit quirky for mainstream car buyers, so the new hatchback in question could solve that issue for Mahindra and have a much wider appeal.
Mahindra has just lost the UV market leadership in India to Maruti Suzuki which achieved this feat with only two compact crossovers in its portfolio. The electric hatchback is Mahindra’s way of diversifying its portfolio and increasing its competitiveness in the Indian passenger vehicle market which witnesses intense competition.
The electric hatchback from Mahindra is likely to target the extremely popular Maruti Swift. An electric vehicle in this segment has a great potential since the fuel prices are soaring every passing day, motivating prospective customers to consider ditching conventional IC engine powered options. This segment (B-hatchback) could lead the change towards greener vehicles in India.
Nothing much about the new Mahindra electric hatchback has been revealed as on now but talking to ET Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said that a small electric hatchback would have a more pull in the shared mobility segment which is populated by operators like Ola and Uber.
ET reports that the electric small car in question would be developed with significant inputs from Mahindra Group’s subsidiary Pininfarina. Pininfarina recently floated a new entity named Pininfarina Engineering which will be taking care of developing vehicles and technologies for clients across the globe including Mahindra.
Mahindra has a head start in the Indian EV market but the competition is about to get intense in the coming years as major players like Toyota, Maruti, Hyundai, Tata, etc., are working on bringing their EVs to the market. If Mahindra wants to retain its current leadership in the segment, it has to be aggressive with its EV projects.
