M&M signs two MoUs with Maharashtra government for 1000 EVs

Mahindra & Mahindra, a leader in the nascent electric vehicle market in India signed two different Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Maharashtra (GoM), to further commit additional investment Rs 500 crore in the manufacturing of electric vehicle components at its Chakan Plant and deploy 1000 electric vehicles in the state in the next one year.This is in line with the Government’s pursuit for rapid adoption of EVs for private use as well as public (shared mobility), said the company in a statement.The MoUs were signed by Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary, Industries on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra and Pawan Goenka, M Dr, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in the presence of Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group.The joint declarations have been signed to further theGovernment’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.Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra said he was 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,” added Goenka.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 company informed.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.Mahindra & Mahindra 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 Government of Maharashtra has conferred the status of ‘Pioneer Mega Project’ to this proposed expansion.

from The Economic Times https://ift.tt/2xv1Bb6