Indian giver! VW to supply tech as Mahindra plans electric vehicle attack
Volkswagen has inked a new deal that will allow Indian car-making giant Mahindra to use its MEB architecture and key components for its future EVs.
The new technical alliance, announced late last week, follows a 2022 announcement that both would work together to make electric cars.
As part of the new arrangement Volkswagen components will be integrated into Mahindra’s incoming battery-powered SUVs that will be built on its own INGLO architecture.
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The tech most likely to be shared by VW will include electric motors, inverters and the German brand’s ‘unified cell’ batteries that will all see Mahindra EVs catch up with the competition.
According to VW, the Indian car-maker will be the first external partner to use its unified cells that feature an advanced design and construction that is promised to eventually slash the cost of battery production by half.
Volkswagen hasn’t announced just how long the agreement will last, stating it will run “over several years” but the battery deal is said to see VW supply a total volume of around 50GWh over the lifetime of the agreement.
The first vehicle to benefit from the VW tie-up will be the INGLO based XUV.e8 SUV that will debut as soon as this December 2024.
It will then be followed shortly after in April 2025 by the XUV.e9 SUV-coupe.
Then Mahindra will introduce its more futuristic BE.05 in October 2025 before launching its flagship BE.07 and BE.09 SUVs in 2026.
Some of these vehicles will come to Australia, where Mahindra already has a presence with a range of utes and SUVs.
Until the VW agreement was signed it was reported that Mahindra was plotting to also team-up with Chinese EV giant BYD – it’s not known if that plan will still go ahead,
Heralded as the first of its kind for Volkswagen, the new supplier deal is expected to be replicated again with other brands.
Volkswagen has already supplied its MEB architecture for Ford in Europe to underpin its all-electric Explorer.
Mahindra, meanwhile, hopes its latest venture will help it catch up with Indian rivals like Tata who already offer the buyers four EVs to choose from.
