M&M targets 'lifestyle buyers' for EV growth
electric vehicles and not just those planning to adopt eco-friendly modes of personal transportation, a senior company executive said.
The Mumbai-based automaker on Tuesday made its first full-fledged foray into India's nascent EV market with the introduction of two pure electric models. These are the first two «born electric» models based on the company's latest INGLO vehicle architecture. M&M plans to launch three to five more models based on the same vehicle architecture over the next few years.
«We're not targeting EV buyers, but lifestyle buyers. If we target EV buyers, we won't get anywhere. Our target is to convert ICE (internal combustion engine) to lifestyle EVs,» Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director, auto and farm equipment sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, told ET. He said the first thing M&M would want a potential customer to have is the desire to drive its EVs.
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«You first want the right brain to kick in. Then we answer all the left brain questions-first, the mind has to want it,» he said. Jejurikar believes that EV buyers in India are being deterred by the lack of desirable products instead of concerns of high initial acquisition cost, charging infrastructure or battery life. The maker of Thar and Scorpio N SUVs is targeting total monthly sales of 10,000 units from the two new EV models.
