Mahindra to use MEB components
Volkswagen and the Indian vehicle manufacturer Mahindra are exploring the use of MEB components in Mahindra’s new “Born Electric Platform”. A cooperation agreement that has now been concluded sets the framework for further evaluation of the collaboration.
According to VW, the agreement contains binding rules for the evaluation phase as well as the non-binding scope of supply. A binding supply agreement is to be worked out by the end of 2022.
The aim of the two companies is to tackle the electrification of the Indian automotive market. To this end, Mahindra intends to source MEB components such as electric motors, battery cells and even battery systems from VW. These will be used in Mahindra’s “Born Electric Platform”.
“It’s another proof point that the MEB is both technologically state of the art and highly competitive in terms of cost,” said Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components. “We are very pleased to have Volkswagen, a significant global investor in the electric mobility space, as a strategic partner in achieving our ambitious Born Electric Vison,” added Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto and Farm Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Details of the new Mahindra platform are not yet available. It will be unveiled soon (July 2022) in Oxfordshire, UK. According to Jejurikar, teams in India, the UK and also the US are working on the Born Electric Platform.
The MEB platform is currently used by Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and also Seat as well as Cupra, among others. However, the platform is not only for the VW Group, but can also be used by other manufacturers. From 2023, for example, Ford will start production of a new electric car at its plant in Cologne, namely the model for which Ford uses Volkswagen’s MEB platform. Ford’s second electric car from Cologne will also use the MEB. With Mahindra, another manufacturer has now joined the list of users.
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