Mahindra & Mahindra is set to take on Tata Motors in the small electric truck market after seizing the lead in the small commercial vehicle market with its pick-up trucks.
At the Q1 earnings media meet, the company’s top management announced that the creator of Supro and Jeeto, which will be launched in the coming months, is ready with its electric micro truck.
But before launching its line of E-LCVs, the firm management is waiting on clarification from the government about the third iteration of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME III) program.
Executive Director and CEO (Auto and Farm Sector), Rajesh Jejurikar, stated that the company has already prepared a few vehicles in the sub-2-tonne class that are ready for
“We are ready with a couple of options, one of which we plan to introduce as we get clarity on the following FAME scheme because we are waiting to see what comes out. As you know, in the current one, they excluded the four-wheelers. So we’re just waiting to see what FAME III has to offer, and then we’ll decide on its launch plan,” he added.
Stating that the total cost of ownership for e-LCVs is favorable compared to ICE alternatives, Jejurikar said that e-LCVs would have a critical role in mass rapid transportation in decarbonising the economy.
Currently, the ongoing Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) only provides demand incentives for electric two- and three-wheelers, not light electric trucks, which were also missed by the previous FAME schemes.
The forthcoming E-LCV range from Mahindra will compete in the expanding e-commerce and on-demand delivery services markets.
With the government tapering the subsidies from Rs 15,000 per kWh to Rs 5,000 per kWh with the current Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme, M&M too has made the switch from NMC to LFP chemistry, which is much cheaper and more energy-dense, Jejurikar indicated.
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