Mahindra is all set to use Ford’s B562 platform for a new electric sedan. The upcoming Mahindra Ford electric car is likely to be an electrified version of the Figo Aspire, which Ford currently sells in India with petrol and turbocharged diesel engines. A formal announcement regarding the same is said to be just days away. Electrifying the Figo Aspire and branding it as a Mahindra car will help the automaker offer a new electric sedan for the Indian market without having to make large investments on developing a new electric sedan platform. The electrified Aspire is also likely to be sold by Ford, which won’t have to develop new electric vehicle technology to deploy it on its car.
Mahindra currently has the eVerito sedan, which it sells in India and also supplies to the Indian government-run EESL. However, the eVerito (based on the Dacia-Renault Logan) is an old car in terms of the platform its uses and also the design. This makes the eVerito less than desirable for buyers who want something fresh, swanky and tech-packed. The Figo Aspire, on the other hand, is a compact sedan that looks quite good, and that was introduced in India just a couple of years ago. The Figo Aspire Electric is, therefore, a car that the market would like to accept as an affordable electric sedan.
Ford and Mahindra’s tie-up will be the second such electric vehicle alliance in India. Maruti has already tied up with Toyota to manufacture Lithium Ion batteries with the help of Denso, a Toyota-owned car/motorcycle parts maker. Toyota will also provide electric vehicle technology to Maruti, which will in turn design and manufacture these electric cars at a lower cost. Such electric cars are likely to be sold with both Maruti and Toyota badges. In this way, Toyota gets to access the affordable electric car market in India easily and Maruti benefits from Toyota’s know-how on electric vehicles.
[“Source-cartoq”]
