Looks like Volkswagen, Skoda and Mahindra are considering an electric car for India. VW Group’s new MEB21 platform will underpin the EV models from Skoda, Cupra as well as VW’s ID.1. Now, according to a media report, Skoda is in talks with Mahindra to share development costs of a new India-specific MEB21G platform.
Development of new EV platform for India
With growing demand for automobiles as well as electric vehicles, it has been reported that a sub-4m Indian version of the ID.1 is being developed. This MEB21G will spawn both VW and Skoda models. However, the Czech carmaker will be the lead for this new low-cost EV program. Just like the way Skoda is leading India 2.0 initiative, the carmaker is hoping to achieve a high localisation content for the upcoming EV platform.
When the MEB21G gets the go ahead, it will have some of the major elements like the motor, battery management system and the battery packs made locally. However, VW-Skoda plans to get the battery cells from Germany. The company is aiming for an aggressive price of INR 20 lakh for this model.
One of the ways to achieve this would be a limited feature list. Despite high localisation, it is evident that getting a sub INR 20 lakh price point would be difficult. Hence, the MEB21G-based models are likely to offer lower feature set than competition.
According to a source, the car might not have an infotainment screen. Instead, all functions would be managed from the digital instruct cluster.
VW is likely to make use of OTA upgrades – customers will have a choice to get the features they want and pay accordingly.
Skoda in talks with Mahindra
Mahindra is likely to be a partner for the new EV platform in India. As announced at the Independence Day Event, Mahindra will be sourcing EV components. Mahindra has already managed to get the latest electric motors (AP550) which will offer improved performance and efficiency. These will also be used in Mahindra’s INGLO-platform based models in the future.
Also Read – Volkswagen India sales grow by 32% in July 2023.