Mahindra Electric was one of the pioneers of electric vehicles in India. With the acquisition of Maini Reva, it rolled out cars like the e2O way before electric vehicles were a thing in India. It followed that up with the likes of the Mahindra eVerito sedan.
The range on those vehicles was limited to between 100 and 140 Km per charge claimed range. The sales too were quite small. However, the company sees opportunity in the fleet segment.
The Quint caught up with Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric on the sidelines of Auto Expo 2020 to figure out the company’s future plans with electric vehicles, especially since it had displayed a whole range of them at the expo. Besides the Funster concept electric convertible and eXUV300, it also had its electric 3-wheeler Treo and a last-mile connectivity solution, the Atom, on display.
The Mahindra Atom is a production-ready four-wheeler. It classifies as a quadricycle and hence could be an ideal auto-rickshaw replacement. It is an electric vehicle with a closed, air-conditioned cabin. It has an inbuilt infotainment system for rear-seat passengers. It can carry three on board.
The company sees an opportunity in last-mile and first-mile connectivity in large cities that have metro-rail infrastructure. Mahesh Babu says these vehicles would be comfortable and convenient alternatives to auto-rickshaws connecting metro stations to people’s homes.
It also says vehicles like the e-KUV100 can be considered by the cab segment because of their low operational costs. For the personal segment, it plans to launch the eXUV300 shortly with a range of up to 370 Km on a single charge. The company also has an electric platform - MESMA 350 - which it claims can offer up to 500 Km on a single charge.
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