VW’s MEB platform will underpin five Mahindra electric SUVs

More than 1 million vehicles will be produced by the brands over the duration of the deal, VW said in a statement.

“The partnership not only demonstrates that our platform business is highly competitive, but also that the MEB is well on track to become one of the leading open platforms for e-mobility,” Volkswagen management board member Thomas Schmall said.

Schmall declined to provide firm numbers but said that the agreement would translate into a significant operating result that he said would be comparable to a medium-sized brand within the VW Group.

Mahindra’s VW-based SUVs will be called the XUV.e8, XUV.e9, BE.05, BE.07 and the BE.09. The first of the five electric SUVs will be launched by the end of 2024 in India while other four should be out by 2026, Mahindra said.

Mahindra has said it expects electric models to account for 20 to 30 percent of its total SUV sales by March 2027.

The company sells some of India’s most popular combustion-engine SUVs, including the Scorpio and Thar.

Producing a range of clean vehicles is crucial for Mahindra to break the dominance of rival Tata Motors in India’s nascent electric car market.