Diesel more favourable for us than petrol for meeting CAFE II norms: Mahindra ED

The company has successfully met its CAFE II targets with just one EV and several diesel SUVs.

Published On May 21, 2024 06:13:00 PM

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"We were fully compliant in FY2024" with CAFE II norms, says Rajesh Jejurikar, ED and CEO

Amid speculations on how multiple carmakers haven’t met the CAFE 2 regulations, Mahindra has stated that it has met its targets for FY24, thanks to the contribution of its electric SUV, the XUV400. The automaker expects to achieve the targets in the ongoing fiscal, too.

“In FY24, we clearly met the target. We were fully compliant. We expect that to happen with the portfolio of electric cars that we have in FY25 as well,” Rajesh Jejurikar, ED and CEO – Automotive and Farm Business at Mahindra, told the analysts post the Q4 FY24 earnings call.

Mahindra will launch seven new EVs by 2030
Company on track to meet CAFE III norms by FY2028

There were concerns the lower EV volumes may pose a challenge for Mahindra, which predominantly has ICE SUVs in its portfolio, but the company has cleared the air now. Mahindra believes that a higher share of diesel vehicles than gasoline puts them in a more favourable position.

“Little counterintuitive as we may sound and having a chat with R Velusamy (head of R&D) on this, his understanding is that, actually, diesel, for us, is more favourable in terms of compliance with CAFE norms than gasoline. We don’t see a worry between diesel and gasoline. But with the plans we have for electric cars, by the time we get to the CAFE-III in FY28, we should be very comfortable with our EV plans (to meet future norms) because we are very invested in EVs,” assured Jejurikar.

Mahindra's approach to meet CAFE III norms

On the upcoming CAFE III norms, Jejurikar said they are “still under discussion”. When asked about the thought processes behind them, he replied that the way Mahindra understands the norms, the current mindset is to create norms that encourage companies to have a very high portfolio of electric cars. “It is being designed in a way that literally discourages non-electric (cars). The direction of the conversation is to move OEMs and push them to have EVs because that’s the only way to meet the CAFE norms.”

The company has committed to invest Rs 27,000 crore in the coming five to seven years in its automotive business. The plan is to launch nine internal-combustion engine SUVs (including the upgrades) and seven electric ones. Currently, the company only has one EV in the market.

On the bare minimum EV share that is required for Mahindra’s volumes to meet the upcoming CAFÉ III targets, he said, “I think it’s a hard number to calculate right now. It depends on what the rest of your mix is, but our guess is 15 percent to 25 percent.” By 2027, the company aims to take EVs’ contribution to its total volumes to 20-30 percent.

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