Anand Mahindra Applauds Tesla’s Entry In India; Says Will Help Market Grow

After years of planning and negotiations, Tesla has finally entered India. It begins its India innings with its bestseller, Model Y, priced at ₹59.89 - 67.89 lakh (ex-showroom, India). Anand Mahindra, Chairperson of the Mahindra Group, welcomes Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, to India through a message on the Musk-owned social Media platform X (formerly Twitter). 

Mahindra posted that “Competition drives innovation, and there’s plenty of road ahead”, conveying that the introduction of Tesla in India will help the emerging EV market and ecosystem in the country to up their game and scale up better. 

Back in 2017, Musk had posted that India committed to selling only electric cars by 2030 and that it was the largest market for solar energy. Mahindra had responded by saying Tesla should venture into India and responded to Musk’s message by saying, ‘You don’t want to leave that whole market to Mahindra, do you?’. He had also mentioned that it’s ‘more the merrier – and greener’ for the fledgling EV industry. 

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which has renewed its plans for the EV industry with an ambitious and aggressive strategy, also has ambitions to go international. It also wants to take on the global market more than it does currently. As of now, Mahindra exports to Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Nepal, but it only sends out its internal combustion engine (ICE) models to right-hand drive markets. With its new EVs, the BE 6 and XEV 9e, Mahindra plans to tackle more international markets, and Europe could be a key region in this plan. 

A senior official recently also stated that M&M wants to build the most intelligent EVs and not just the most affordable ones, reflecting the OEM’s ambitious plans. The tech laden born electric SUVs BE 6 and XEV 9e are the first set of models with the task of making good inroads into the emerging market. Some of the key features these electric SUVs get are a triple screen layout (exclusive to the XEV 9e), a dual screen layout (on the BE 6), self-parking, ADAS (L2), an illuminated panoramic glass roof, connected car tech, ventilated seats, auto headlamps and wipers, and more. 

M&M is also betting big on Autonomous Driving tech, starting with assisted driving (ADAS), as a key pillar for a successful drive in the new age industry. A majority of its big-selling ICE models – XUV 3XO, XUV 700, Thar Roxx and Scorpio – now come with ADAS, currently a major tech trend in the market. Mobileye, a former supplier to Tesla, is now a key partner for M&M for this technology, with an aim to together make Autonomous Driving (also a key brand pitch for the American EV maker), a reality in India.