Mahindra is well advanced with its plans to re-enter UK car market with a sub-£10k electric vehicle in the first quarter of 2016, according to a report in the Indian business media.
The Indian manufacturer intends to launch a special export version of its fully electric Mahindra e2o in European markets. The compact two-door, four-seat vehicle is the successor to the Revai, which was sold as the G-Wiz in the UK.
Read our review of the Mahindra e2o
Business news publication livemint.com has quoted Pawan Goenka, Mahindra’s executive director and the president of automotive and farm equipment sectors, as saying the company has “just got the results of some extensive market research we carried out in the UK, and we are happy with what we see.
“We have had some very good discussions with the UK government about this. And we want to cater to the sub-£10,000 segment of the electric vehicle market.”
Goenka’s comments back up a report run by Autocar’s sister publication, Autocar India, in July last year, where Mahindra pledged to invest up to £20 million to develop the latest electric vehicle technology.
Read Autocar India's review of the Mahindra e2o
Although Mahindra owns the Ssangyong brand that already has a presence in the UK market, the electric car is set to carry the Mahindra badge, because the manufacturer “wants to be seen as a serious OEM (original equipment manufacturer) with a long-term vision”, according to Goenka.
He added: “We are thinking of building our own distribution network in the UK. We want to target the individual buyer - perhaps people who are looking to buy a second car in the sub-£10,000 range for short commutes and inner-city driving. We are not here to plug a technology gap, but a price gap.”
The domestic-market Mahindra e2o is 3280mm long, 1514mm wide and 1560mm high, with a wheelbase of 1958mm.
The international version of the e2o is expected to gain power and have an increased maximum speed and a longer battery range than the version currently on sale in Asia. The Asian-market e2o has a top speed of 50mph and can manage about 75 miles on a charge.
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