India’s giant automotive manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra is expecting its quarter of the SUVs to be electric by 2027. Bringing alive the sport in electric SUVs, Mahindra unveiled two new brands, to house the company’s EV portfolio – Iconic brand XUV and the all-new electric-only brand called BE. The indication of these two brands has been showcased via five e-SUVs: the XUV.e8, XUV.e9, BE.05, BE.07, and BE.09 last year on 15th of August. The first four of these are to be launched between 2024 and 2026.
Some reports say, M&M partners with BYD and Farasis to meet the battery requirements for its upcoming electric SUVs. BYD, a Chinese automotive and battery manufacturer will supply 60 kWh and 80 kWh batteries for BE models. And Farasis to 32 kWh to 40 kWh batteries for the XUV400.
Earlier, Volkswagen and Mahindra had signed to equip these SUVs with Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive kit (MEB) components like electric motors, battery cells, and system components. But due to delays on VW’s part, BYD is to supply the battery of the specified capacity. BYD’s blade battery is expected to be safer and has higher energy density.
The Blade Battery also passed other extreme test conditions, such as being crushed, bent, being heated in a furnace to 300°C and overcharged by 260%. None of these resulted in a fire or explosion.
Mahindra is building these SUVs on its INGLO Platform (Indian at heart and global in its reach) which offers class-leading safety standards (5-star NCAP rating), exhilarating performance, excellent range and efficiency, exemplary driving dynamics. The battery pack of these SUVs will be in range of 60-80 kWh capacity of LFP based Li-ion battery, and support a 175 kW fast-charger that can charge up to 80% in less than 30 minutes. With 5 Radars-1 Vision ADAS architecture, INGLO is futureproofed up to level-2 autonomy.
Read More: Mahindra Might Bring Out the Electric Version of Thar
