Mahindra plans to export EVs to UK with trade agreement in place
India-UK free trade agreement
(FTA), Group CEO and Managing Director Anish Shah told PTI Videos.
The company, a leading player in India's domestic EV segment, expects electric vehicles to account for 30 per cent of its overall sales by 2030. In 2022, Mahindra inaugurated its
Mahindra Advanced Design Europe
(M.A.D.E) facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire, which serves as the conceptual hub for the company's electric product portfolio.
Shah highlighted India's potential to become a global hub for automobile manufacturing.
"We are looking forward to exporting our electric vehicles to the UK and to take a bigger share of the UK market and competing in the UK on the back of this FTA," he said.
Shah highlighted the government's approach to the India-UK trade agreement, noting that it opens up the domestic market to UK goods while also boosting Indian exports across multiple industries.
He said the FTA is expected to foster innovation and strengthen manufacturing in the country. Using the automobile sector as an example, he pointed out that India has significant potential to become a global auto manufacturing hub.
While the industry is currently smaller, improvements in ease of doing business, logistics costs, and import duties are enabling the production of higher-quality vehicles domestically.
He added that India's manufacturing hub potential extends beyond domestic firms to global automakers.
"We want the best global automakers to be in India and produce in India. It will spur businesses. It will be better... more competition makes us better over time. So it's very important for us to be able to have a very thriving auto industry in India, consumers having the choice of the best cars in the world," Shah said.
Addressing concerns over the entry of global EV players such as Tesla and Vinfast into the Indian market, Shah said Mahindra sees competition as a growth opportunity.
"We are actually excited about it. And it's something I say in all seriousness, because if you look back at the last 25 years, we had this question come up numerous times," he said, referring to past entries of Ford, Hyundai, and Kia.
"And we've not just survived. We've gotten better as we've had competition that came in, and today we are actually standing at a much stronger position," Shah added.
The company's strong research and development capabilities in India allow it to manufacture high-quality vehicles at competitive costs, he noted.
"We think it's good for India to have a thriving auto ecosystem, and that's something that we feel is better for consumers and good for us," he said.
Shah highlighted Mahindra's growing market share in the SUV segment, which has risen from 11 per cent to 27 per cent over time, with a 5.7 percentage-point increase in the last quarter alone.
"Now we have not set specific numbers for 2030 as to what a market share should be. Our focus is on developing the best products. Execute very well, and that will enable us to keep a leadership position," he said.
Mahindra plans to expand its product range across domestic and international markets.
"We will focus on certain markets, first get to a strong market share, then focus on the next set of markets. So we see a lot of opportunities for growth, and it starts with creating the best products," Shah said.
On the company's SUV strategy, he added:
"We chose to be in SUVs because we had strength in that area. We could build authentic SUVs very well, and we've taken that strength and augmented it by a number of things around more refined cars, much better technology in cars, and that's helped us get where we are. As we go forward. We feel that we may look at other actions, we may look at slightly smaller SUVs to start with."
Regarding potential global acquisitions, Shah said Mahindra will prioritise strategic moves that strengthen its core business.
"SML (stake acquisition) is a classic example. It's one that takes our truck business to a different level and puts it on a much better path for growth and as we see opportunities to do that and to be able to deliver the returns for our investors, we will do it," he said.
On rare earth magnet shortages affecting EV production, Shah said alternatives are being explored.
"There are potential alternatives as well. So we are working through some of those," he noted.
He added that India has strengthened its resilience through past disruptions such as the semiconductor shortage and expects to manage challenges arising from geopolitical factors.
"As I said, it's one of the geopolitical disruptions. We had semiconductors, and going through that has made us stronger, and that has allowed us to look at what are the potential alternatives here. And I believe the government is also doing a lot to look at alternatives for vehicles and permanent magnets as well. So we feel that we should be able to handle that and then move forward on this," Shah said.
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