The Mahindra Group, which recently inaugurated the Mahindra GenZe manufacturing facility and the Mahindra North American Technical Centre (MNATC) in Southeast Michigan, USA, has now declared intentions of exporting products from there.
“Exporting to various markets outside USA is certainly on the cards,” says Dr Pawan Goenka, executive director and president – automotive and farm equipment sectors, M&M, in an email response to our sister publication, Autocar Professional.
The GenZe plant has the capacity to assemble up to 9,000 vehicles annually, with the ability to ramp up to 20,000 vehicles if needed. The exports could be of the GenZe and other products, as Mahindra may build a portfolio of electric two-wheelers.
“What we are doing with electric two-wheelers with GenZe is a beginning. All options are open,” says Dr Goenka.
The future of Mahindra’s two-wheeler portfolio will depend to a large extent on the response the GenZe gets in the US. The GenZe, which promises to be ‘the new fun, fast way to get around’ will go on sale later this year. Reports say that the electric scooter will debut with a price tag of $3,000 (Rs 1.8 lakh). The company claims that the GenZe is the only two-wheeled electric vehicle of its kind in the US.
Targeted at students and urban commuters, the GenZe offers ease of travel, specialised storage and a range of 50km with many industry first features. With the top speed set at 50kph, there is no need for a motorcycle license to operate the GenZe in most states in the US. “With industry leading utility and connectivity features including the ability to charge anywhere on the go, the GenZe is the perfect lifestyle empowering vehicle for the American consumer,” says Vish Palekar, CEO, Mahindra GenZe.
The GenZe has been conceived at Silicon Valley and ‘is part of a single global initiative from Mahindra to address the growing problem of transportation in crowded cities across the world’. China, which has a significant population of electric vehicles and a positive government policy, could be one of the export destinations for Mahindra’s electric two-wheelers.