Mahindra, Volkswagen Partner Up To Explore Usage Of EV Components

The new partnership between the two carmakers will see Mahindra explore the use of components from the Volkswagen Group's MEB electric vehicle platform including electric motors, battery cells and battery system agreements in its upcoming lineup of electric SUV

In a joint statement, the two companies stated that the partnering agreement will evaluate the scope of collaboration between the two companies. The agreement between the two carmakers indicates binding rules for the evaluation phase as well as the non-binding scope of supply. The companies have stated that their joint goal is to electrify the Indian market. Volkswagen and Mahindra will negotiate the binding supply agreement by the end of 2022 in a continued constructive and legally compliant way.

Speaking about the new partnership with Mahindra,
Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board of Management member for Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components, stated, "Mahindra is a pioneer in the electric mobility space in India and a great partner for our MEB Electric Platform. Together with Mahindra, we want to contribute significantly to the electrification of India, a huge automotive market with enormous growth potential and high relevance for climate protection. It's another proof point that the MEB is both technologically state of the art and highly competitive in terms of cost. The MEB is thus progressively developing into the leading open platform for e-mobility, generating significant volume and economies of scale. That's crucial for every company in the EV world and the key to competitive solutions for our customers."

Commenting on Mahindra's new partnership with the Volkswagen Group, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto and Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., stated,"We are very pleased to have Volkswagen, a significant global investor in the electric mobility space, as a strategic partner in achieving our ambitious Born Electric Vison. The complementarity of their extensive technology, innovation, and vertical integration in supply chains, will provide a framework to develop our next gen "Born Electric Platform", to be revealed soon in Oxfordshire UK. Our teams across India, UK and Detroit are passionately creating a breath-taking future."

If the supply deal does go through it will mean that Mahindra's upcoming lineup of 'Born Electric' vehicles will sport components from the Volkswagen Group's innovative MEB platform which already underpins multiple vehicles from the VW, Skoda, Audi and Seat brands.

Mahindra has been teasing its upcoming lineup of Born Electric EVs for a while now and the lineup of what appear to be three electric SUVs will be revealed in July this year. The three pure electric vehicles are expected to be a compact SUV, a mid-size SUV and a coupe SUV.

The Mahindra Born Electric Vision lineup is being designed at the Mahindra Advanced Design Studio Europe (MADE), the marque's new global design centre which is being headed by former Tata design chief Pratap Bose.

Thoughts On Mahindra's New Partnership With Volkswagen

Mahindra's new partnership with the VW Group will see the Indian utility vehicle specialist explore the usage of Volkswagen's MEB platform components in its upcoming lineup of Born Electric EVs. If the deal does go through as planned, it will help Mahindra reduce costs while ensuring that its upcoming EVs come equipped with some rather very well tested components.