Will your next Mahindra be a Volkswagen underneath? What the new and unlikely tie-up could mean for Indian challenger brand in Australia

Mahindra, one of India’s largest car manufacturers, has announced an unprecedented tie-up with Volkswagen Group to source its MEB platform for not one but five new electric vehicles.

The platform share deal is important as it offers Mahindra a comparatively easy way into the electric car market while also representing an expansion of Volkswagen’s platform-sharing program, which is already planned to extend to Ford passenger vehicles building off the existing relationship the brands have with the new-generation Ranger and Amarok.

Mahindra says the MEB-based vehicles will be sold under two brand names, the familiar XUV nameplate, which will return to Australia later this year in the form of the combustion XUV700 mid-size SUV, and a new sub-brand dubbed BE.

There will be two XUV models, the e8, and e9, while the BE brand will be fleshed out with three models, the BE 05, BE 07, and BE 09 - all of which will be SUVs primarily launching in the Indian domestic market.

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While little is known about the upcoming new range of Mahindra electric vehicles thus far, it would be unsurprising to see at least one earmarked for Australia if the Indian brand’s renewed push into our market with the XUV700 mid-sizer and larger, more off-road focused Scorpio-N is successful.

Mahindra was clear that its new electric vehicle offerings were targeted not just domestically, but for export markets too, with Mahindra’s auto division executive director Rajesh Jejurikar stating the platform deal would mean “unmatched potential for growth and further customization for developing new and innovative products, not just for India, but for global markets”.

Mahindra's first fully-electric BE sub-brand will launch with three new SUV offerings.

The MEB platform, which underpins the popular-overseas VW ID.3 hatchback, as well as the ID.4 and 5 SUVs, is also capable of supporting the kinds of safety technologies needed to comply Mahindra’s future offerings with Australia’s strict safety standards. This has been an issue for the brand in the past, with models like the cut-price Jeep-Wrangler challenging Thar ruled out on a safety basis, as well as its more popular models like the Pik Up ute falling well short of the gold standard. The current Pik Up carries a three-star ANCAP safety rating to a comparatively ancient 2012 standard.

Mahindra says batteries will be offered in either 60 or 80kWh variants for its new range of EVs, suggesting competitive driving ranges which will vary depending on bodystyle. The brand currently sells around three million vehicles a year, and Volkswagen says up to one million MEB-based vehicles could be produced for the scope of its deal.

Mahindra offers an aggressive timeline for the launch of its new range, thus far only seen in concept form, with the first car arriving as soon as 2024.

The electric range marketed under both the BE and XUV nameplates will debut a new design language for Mahindra.

Hopefully by then Australia will have seen the launch of Volkswagen’s own MEB-based electric offerings, which have been put on the backburner, the brand says courtesy of Australia’s lack of emissions regulations, and the need for it to meet strong demand for the ID.3 and ID.4 in other markets.

Volkswagen Group's first MEB-based vehicle to launch in Australia will be the Cupra Born, earmarked to land in local showrooms in early 2023.