NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd will focus on developing its core portfolio of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and its electric version, a senior executive said on Friday after the company ended talks with the company jointly with Ford Motor Co.
Anish Shah, deputy general manager, said Mahindra will focus mainly on large all-terrain vehicles for India’s central market in the short term and will move to electricity in the medium term as it presents a new strategy for its ‘automotive.
“Let’s get back to our core,” Shah, who will take over as CEO from April, told Reuters.
“We are going to look forward to how we can accelerate our investment in electricity and really start moving into the new era. We clearly have the ambition to be a global brand and, again, electric travel is important, ”said Shah.
Mahindra’s high-end electric vehicle, Pininfarina Battista, is a starting point, Shah said, adding that the carmaker would study the development of more electric platforms in India to build SUVs for local markets and export.
Mahindra and Ford canceled their car joint venture on Thursday afternoon due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted them to reassess their capital allocation priorities.
The two companies planned to jointly develop vehicles for manufacturing in India for local sale and export to dozens of emerging markets under the Ford badge.
However, Mahindra was not convinced that the company would generate the returns needed to justify the higher investment it would have to make in a post-pandemic world.
Shah told reporters that Mahindra had initially planned to invest about 30 billion rupees ($ 410.68 million) in the company, half of which would have been capital.
Now, Mahindra plans to invest the money in electric vehicles, he said, adding that he is open to partnering with Ford in the future, including electric vehicles.
The overhaul is part of a broader restructuring in Mahindra, under which the company leaves several loss-making companies, including its South Korean unit Ssangyong Motor, to focus on profits and flow. of box.
Mahindra said on Friday that he is about to reach an agreement with a potential investor for his majority stake in Ssangyong, which has been put on trial. Its total investment in the SUV maker is $ 264 million and the scope of the cancellation will depend on the deal that has been agreed, Shah said.
Last year, the automaker also plugged in its American electric scooter unit GenZe and aviation business GippsAero. Its other global subsidiaries include Peugeot motorcycles.
Mahindra sold about 190,000 passenger vehicles in India last fiscal year ended March 31, allowing it about 7% market share, according to industry data.
Aditi Shah Reports; Edited by Neil Fullick