Mahindra & Mahindra Takes Majority Stake in REVA Electric Car Co.
26 May 2010
India-based Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) is acquiring a majority share in REVA Electric Car Co Ltd. Bangalore. REVA Electric Car Co Ltd. will be renamed Mahindra REVA Electric Vehicle Co Ltd.
Under the new agreement signed today by both the companies, M&M will own 55.2% equity in Mahindra REVA via a combination of equity purchase from the promoters and a fresh equity infusion of over Rs 45 crores (approx US $10 million) into the company. The acquisition will bolster M&M’s current development work, as well as give it a position in the electric car market.
Post the buyout, the Board of Mahindra REVA has been re-constituted under the chairmanship of Dr. Pawan Goenka, President Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra. The new board includes five nominees from Mahindra & Mahindra, two from the Maini family, and one from AEV LLC, California (co-founders of REVA). An independent director will be added to the board subsequently. Chetan Maini will continue to play a leading role in Mahindra REVA as Chief of Technology & Strategy and will continue to be on the board.
Under its core Sustainable Mobility initiative, Mahindra has been working for the last 10 years on developing green technologies and has demonstrated diesel hybrid technology on the Scorpio and hydrogen Alfa three wheelers. (Earlier post.) Mahindra has a pilot fleet operating with 100% bio-diesel and was the first to launch micro-hybrid technology in India with around 50,000 such micro-hybrids on the road today.
In EVs, over and above the electric three-wheeler Bijlee developed in 1999, it is also currently working on an electric version of its mini-truck, Maxximo. (Earlier post.) Mahindra REVA’s EV technology will be adapted for these and other M&M vehicles. Access to EV technology will strengthen Mahindra’s other current sustainability initiatives, th company said.
REVA was established in Bangalore in 1994 as a joint venture between the Maini Group of Bangalore, India and AEV LLC of California, US. Its REVA electric vehicle was first commercially available in Bangalore in 2001 and in London in 2004, under the G-Wiz brand. REVA markets its vehicles in 24 countries across Europe, Asia and Central and South America and has more than 3,500 of its vehicles on the road with more than 100 million km of user experience.
REVA launched two new electric cars at the 63rd Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009; the NXR and the NXG along with the REVive remote emergency charge system. (Earlier post.) In January 2010, the Chevrolet e-Spark premiered at the Delhi Auto Show, with GM India’s platform powered by REVA. (Earlier post.)
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