The MoUs were signed by Chief
Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary, Industries on behalf of the
Government of Maharashtra and Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra
& Mahindra Ltd. in the presence of Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra
Fadnavis, Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra
Group and other dignitaries. The joint declarations have been signed to
further the Government’s vision to make Maharashtra a globally competitive
state for EVs and component manufacture and to maximize the adoption of EVs in
the state.
Under the aegis of the first
MoU the company will make efforts to become fully electric ready by further
investing in its Chakan plant for manufacture of EVs, e-motor, controller,
battery pack and other electric vehicle components for multiple mobility
applications related to battery pack assembly of EVs. As part of this expansion
plan, the company will invest an additional Rs. 500 crore.
The second MoU underlines the
intent to explore a strategic alliance to enable Mahindra to deploy EVs across
key cities in Maharashtra. Towards this,
both the company and the Government will work closely with various fleet
partners, taxi aggregators, logistics companies, amongst others to deploy 1,000
electric cars over the next 1 year.
Speaking on the expansion
plans and deployment of EVs, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra
& Mahindra Ltd. said, "We are delighted to announce the next phase of
our EV expansion plans at Chakan and would like to thank the Government of
Maharashtra for their continuous and unstinted support. At Mahindra we have
pioneered the sustainable mobility cause in India and have remained committed
to it for almost a decade. Now, we are investing further in next generation EV
technology solutions and are actively engaging with the ecosystem stakeholders,
both private and public to drive faster adoption of electric vehicles. The
Government of Maharashtra recognises this fact and we are delighted to make the
state a key partner in our growth over the coming years.”
The first deployment of EVs,
as part of the MoU, will see 25 e2oPlus vehicles ported on the Zoomcar platform
in Mumbai, on the occasion of World Environment Day. The range of applications
for the deployment of these EVs across the key cities of the state will include
employee transport between office and home for corporates, taxi hailing, ride
sharing and self-drive car rental amongst others.
The company will also liaison
with technology partners for motor controller, power electronics, battery pack,
drivetrain and other parts and components, which are currently being imported.
The company will supply EV battery pack, motors and controllers, power
electronics, battery pack, drivetrain, other parts/components of EVs, battery
assembly and electric vehicles to MVML and M&M plants and other Group
companies as well as to other customers. The Mahindra Group has been at the
forefront of promoting electrical mobility and this strategic alliance with the
state Government will bring in a paradigm shift in passenger commuting and
considerably mitigate air pollution.
The Government of Maharashtra
has conferred the status of ‘Pioneer Mega Project’ to this proposed
expansion.