Mahindra recently declared that since deliveries started in March of this year, it has delivered more than 6,300 BE 6 and XEV 9e electric SUVs. The business also disclosed that the top-spec Pack Three option, which only comes with the larger 79kWh battery pack, has accounted for more than 75% of all reservations made thus far. But in order to provide a more logical number of variants, Mahindra intends to implement the larger battery pack on lower trims in the future.
1. There have been 6,300 Mahindra BE 6 XEV 9e deliveries to date.
2. The top-spec Pack Three version has accounted for more than 75% of reservations.
3. Mahindra wants to sell more of the base
Requests for lower trims are not getting transformed into reservations.
The BE 6 and XEV 9e will be delivered by Mahindra in phases. In March, deliveries of the top-spec Pack Three model started. In June, Pack Three Select variations are expected to arrive, and in July, Pack Two. Only in August will the base “Pack 1 Above” and Pack 1 variations begin to arrive.
The company’s executive director and CEO (Auto and Farm Sector), Rajesh Jejurikar, told our sister journal Autocar Professional that although there are good sales of the lower-spec models, buyers are reluctant to make a purchase until they have seen the car in person. “People prefer to view the cars before making a reservation, so they are not currently converted into bookings.”
In the words of Jejurikar, over 75% of reservations are for Pack Three, indicating that the current booking mix is still heavily biased toward the upper end. “When we release the display and test drive vehicles of Pack Two and Pack One, we think the mix will start to change,” he continued.
Greater demand for a longer battery range
It’s noteworthy to note that Jejurikar observed that customers are favoring longer driving range above features. Mahindra is currently reconsidering its range of variants in order to provide the 79kWh battery on lesser trim levels.
“A sizable portion of the population will prefer 79kWh in smaller bundles. This is much different from what we had anticipated, which was that 79kWh would only be used at the top end and that all other energy would be 59kWh. Range is more significant to a certain group of people than many of the other characteristics we provide”, Jejurikar stated.
Mahindra may release new BE 6 and XEV 9e models with a 79kWh battery and less features to make them more reasonably priced in order to address this issue. The business thinks this could lead to increased volumes and a wider consumer base.
We must have a suitable blend in Packs One and Two before we can begin increasing volumes. We will reach saturation at a pricing point where maintaining large volumes will be challenging. We must begin obtaining at least 25–30% of our volumes from Packs 1 and 2, he stated.