Anand Mahindra, the Chairman of Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) Group, said it is currently betting on the electric vehicle (EV) segment though multiple alternative fuel technologies are emerging.
“A lot of people are making multiple bets, but they have the resources. But Mahindra is still at the stage where it cannot bet on multiple powertrain technologies. We have to focus on one or two technologies. We believe strongly in EVs,” he said while participating in a discussion at the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024 here.
He said Mahindra Group always believed that for a country like India EV would be the right option as it does not have fossil fuel resources. “So, we think EV is very important for India both from planet point of view as well as geopolitical point of view,” he added.
He also said the teams at Mahindra are doing everything they can to succeed in the EV sector and making sure that the pace of change is different, and they take the company forward. “We have a very strong portfolio of EVs coming,” he added.
Talking about Tamil Nadu and his experience with the state, Mahindra, who studied in a school in Ooty, said he was impressed with how education was enshrined and worshipped in Tamil Nadu.
Recalling the Mahindra-Ford joint venture’s days, he said Tamil Nadu wasn’t on the list to set up the car factory of the joint venture and Mahindra was looking for a site elsewhere. However, the company’s US partner found Chennai more favourable than other locations due to the availabe engineering talent pool
“Chennai was not a prime choice due to infrastructure, power, government support and so on. We were looking at the states in North India. But, it was the Ford team that made us consider Tamil Nadu. The quality of the human resources is great in Tamil Nadu,” he added.
“Mahindra Research Valley project [at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai] was a very personal decision that I took,” he said.
Since the then head of Research and Development (R&D) wanted a research unit near a factory, Chennai was not favoured as the company didn’t have a factory in the city. For synergy reasons, the Mahindra Team wanted the R&D unit to be set up near a factory.
“I was a minority in that group. But I said If research is about talent, intelligence and creativity, we have to go where that is there. Then we co-located our tractor and auto R&D here. Today MRV [Mahindra Research Valley] is the pride of our business and group and has enabled us to come out with blockbuster products,” he said.