Yesterday, Indian automotive and industrial giant Mahindra & Mahindra revealed five dramatic new electric SUV concepts that will spearhead a full-bore electrification drive for the marque - while introducing a radical new sub-brand aimed at entirely new markets.
Just as significantly, the most dramatically styled pair among the five – all of which use architecture derived from the Volkswagen Group's MEB platform – are the work of Mahindra's Advanced Design Europe (MADE) facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire, next to the headquarters of its successful Formula E racing team.
At the event, Mahindra executive vice president and chief design officer Pratap Bose – previously a leading figure in the design team at Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors – gave Autocar exclusive insight into the brand's plans to electrify India, before taking its bold new products to the global market for the first time.
Why show five concepts simultaneously, and not just one?
"That's our story. The story is bigger than one car: it's about the business; it's about the architecture; it's about the range of cars. If you want to show a vision that you're starting to realise, you need to show the whole thing, that you're serious about EVs."
Why all SUVs and no smaller cars?
"We will have SUVs in various sizes, of course. The first, for example, the BE.05, is a 4.2m car, and the BE.09 is 4.9, so it's already half a metre longer. That's the range.
"We are an SUV company, and that's what we'll focus on. It's our core strength, and what a lot of people love us for. We are one of the few pure-SUV companies, and we're very proud of that heritage."
These are technologically advanced and strikingly styled cars, but is affordability still Mahindra's mantra?
"It will be, of course. We've spoken about the economy of scale, our volume ambitions and how VW's own volumes will be something we can leverage, and how they can leverage ours. The focus will always be on volume, and getting that right. And our current ICE portfolio shows that we can create incredible value and still deliver a great product.
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