Utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will focus more on electric vehicles than on hybrid ones.
“Right now our focus is more on the electric vehicles than on the hybrid vehicles. We were the first ones to launch micro-hybrid in India and probably have a much bigger micro-hybrid fleet than anyone else. But, we have gone extreme on electric vehicles and focus on electric vehicles after the Reva acquisition,” Pawan Goenka, Executive Director of M&M, told reporters here on the sidelines of SIAM’s annual convention here.
He said with the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme, which offered a subsidy for customers, there is some traction, but nowhere near what is needed for making electric vehicles a viable business standalone.
The company is running some tests for electric vehicles, apart from the e2O that it has been selling after acquiring Reva Electric.
M&M has sent five Maxximo electric vehicles to be operated around the Taj Mahal. It will be ready with the Verito electric vehicle to be launched in a few markets soon, he said.
Goenka said Government schemes like FAME India will help build an ecosystem for these vehicles over the next three to four years.
On the company’s two-wheeler business, Goenka said it was working to expand the presence of Peugeot Motorcycles by entering markets like North Africa and Vietnam, apart from home-market Europe.
M&M had acquired a majority stake in Peugeot Motorcycles (PMTC) earlier this year, paying €28 million for a 51 per cent stake.
Goenka said it would not be possible to launch Peugeot scooters in India in the immediate future.
“We have to bring down the cost if we have to launch Peugeot scooters in India. As we said at the time of acquisition, the aim was to expand Peugeot and not to primarily sell its products in India,” he added.