PICTURE CAPTION: Rajesh
Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Sectors, M&M and Thomas
Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board of Management member for Technology and CEO of
Volkswagen Group Components signing the Partnering Agreement
Volkswagen
and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) are exploring the use of MEB
electric components for Mahindra’s new “Born Electric Platform”. Both parties
announced that they have signed a partnering agreement to evaluate the scope of
collaboration.
Mahindra
intends to equip its “Born Electric Platform” with MEB electric components such
as electric motors, battery system components and battery cells. The partnering
agreement evaluates the scope of collaboration – it indicates binding rules for
the evaluation phase as well as the non-binding scope of supply.
The
binding supply agreement will be negotiated in a continued constructive and
legally compliant way to conclude by the end of 2022. Designed as an open
vehicle platform, the MEB electric platform and its components allow car
manufacturers to build their portfolio of electrified vehicles, quickly and
cost-effectively.
The
shared objective of the two companies is to electrify the Indian automotive
market, one of the most important automotive growth markets and a key element
in the global decarbonisation of the mobility sector.
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 the partnership, 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 Vision. 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.”
India
is one of the global top-5 automotive markets with about three million vehicles
per year. According to current forecasts, the market could grow to up to five
million vehicles by 2030. So far, the market has been dominated by vehicles
with diesel or petrol engines. However, at the 2021 Climate Summit in Glasgow,
India undertook only to register zero-emission passenger cars and vans,
starting in 2035. As a result, the electrification of the passenger car segment
is expected to gain significant momentum in the coming years. Industry experts
anticipate that in 2030 more than half of all new vehicles will be fully
electric.
Already
today, Volkswagen’s MEB Electric Platform is used by the Group brands
Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Seat/Cupra as well as external partners.
Responsibility for these partnerships has been assigned to the “Platform
Business” unit created specifically for this purpose.