BENGALURU: India’s Mahindra launched a seven-seater electric SUV on Thursday with a starting price of around 2 million rupees ($22,409), as it eyes a bigger share in a segment dominated by Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.
The launch comes as India’s EV transition picks up pace after a slow start. Sales of battery-powered cars have risen to more than 100,000 so far this year from just over 23,000 units sold last year, according to government data.
Mahindra will invest an additional 20 billion rupees on the new car, XEV 9S, and a new edition of BE 6, as part of a planned investment of 160 billion rupees to develop electric origin SUVs through fiscal year 2027. Electric origin models are designed from the ground up and not adapted from petrol cars.
“With the XEV 9S, we are not just playing in the EV segment, we’re expanding it”, Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO of Mahindra’s automotive division, said in a statement.
The automaker launched six variants of the e-SUV. The top variant costs about $33,000 with a driving range of 500 km (311 miles). Bookings open on January 14 and deliveries on January 23.
The launch could help the automaker cannibalize at least 5,000-10,000 units per annum given that there are only a few options for seven seaters in the segment, Rishi Vora, vice president at Kotak Securities, said.
Mahindra, India’s second-largest SUV manufacturer by volumes, aims for EVs to make up at least 20% of its SUV sales by 2027. It sold over 30,000 electric SUVs between March and October this year, according to a presentation.
Production of its earlier EV models, XEV 9E and BE6, is at 4,000–5,000 units a month and the firm plans to double the EV capacity from April 2026, an executive said at the launch event.
Analysts say EVs are driving fresh demand for Mahindra, with 80% of buyers new to the brand.
Tata Motors PV, the EV market leader in India, offers six electric models. Its Tiago EV model starts from $8,950, while its SUV Harrier begins from $24,000.
Rival Hyundai Motor India also sells EVs under Creta and IONIQ brands.
Electric four-wheelers account for 2%-3% of India’s total vehicle sales, held back by high upfront costs and uneven charging infrastructure. The government aims for 30% EV penetration by 2030.
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