When you ask Pawan Goenka, Executive Director of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), if his company can be compared with Tesla, he says he is happy that the two are compared, but the Indian-grown company’s focus is quite different.
“The good thing is that we always get compared with Tesla, which is nice. But, we are playing in two different spaces — Tesla is focussing only on the high-end personal-usage electric vehicle, we are focussing on the commercial and personal use as well and also in the entry-level,” he said.
Mahindra’s approach is different, he said, adding: “Our approach is to look at making it a mass market technology. There is a strategy that they have and strategy we have.”
He said though India has not grown yet in the electric vehicle (EV) segment, but the companies cannot ask more from the government for subsidies. “It is the consumer who has to be educated,” he added.
Customers’ role “One can always ask for more, but then, one should also be practical about it. The Central government and State governments are working together to make the subsidies available everywhere. Customers also have to see what all benefits they are getting,” he said.
On asked about the lack of infrastructure for EVs in the country, as a perfect salesman Goenka stated, “Infrastructure is overstated. You buy an electric car, use it and call me if there is any problem…I will come and charge your battery. It’s a promise.”
He said one has to see how eco-friendly an EV is and benefits of buying one and even if one thinks of after-sales issues, there should not be much.
As an EV runs without an engine, one does not have to think about engine oil or oil filter to be serviced every now and then.
And, even if one thinks that battery costs a lot, with a running cost of just 70-80 paise per kilometre, one can save on fuel prices to buy a battery instead after the five-year life of a battery.
“The savings that you put from not using petrol or diesel, then you will have more than enough money collected to buy a new battery. Clearly, in five years of use, you would have saved enough money to buy the next battery. Servicing of an EV is also much lesser than a regular vehicle,” Goenka quips.
Battery technology But, on the battery technology, he said that it is something that M&M will not work on as there is enough going on battery technology globally.
‘By doing something here, we are not going to make a difference. What we are working on is -- how to optimise the use of battery – the software and control system of the battery rather than how to design a battery,” he said.
Meanwhile, the company launched electric vehicle portfolio with the launch of e20 Plus hatchback priced at ₹5.46 lakh to ₹8.46 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).