Upcoming Mahindra sedan to be based on Ford Aspire platform, will be an EV.
Mahindra and Ford announced an alliance in September 2017 and recently signed not one not two but five MoUs for jointly developing two new SUVs, a small EV and connected car solutions. As per the alliance, the next generation Mahindra XUV500 will share its platform with an all-new Ford SUV whereas Mahindra will get access to Ford’s B562 (Aspire) platform for the development of an electric sedan.
The B562 platform currently underpins the Ford Figo and Aspire. The two automakers coming together expect to reduce the product development timeline. Mahindra needs a new generation architecture to address the EV sedan portfolio for the future, especially for customers like Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a JV of state-owned companies under the power ministry.
Mahindra’s acquisition of Reva clearly gives it a headstart in the nascent Indian EV market. Currently, there are three EVs on offer, two in the passenger vehicles segment (e2o Plus and e-Verito) and one in the LCV segment (e-Supro). The automaker is geared up to launch an all-electric variant of the KUV100, called the e-KUV100. A report from December 2017 states that the company is planning to introduce three new EVs (one of which is the e-KUV100) in India by 2020.
Upcoming Mahindra Sedan
– Mahindra’s EV sedan to use Ford Aspire’s platform
– Borrowing the platform will help save time
– The EV sedan is likely to hit the roads in the next 2-3 years
Source – ETAuto.com