M&M readying electric variants of Verito, Gio and Maxximo

Mahindra and Mahindra, which recently launched its all-electric car e2o, is planning to roll out electric variants of its popular sedan Verito, compact truck Gio and minivan Maxximo.

M&M will roll out an electric version of the Verito sedan within a year, Pawan Goenka, president, automotive and farm equipment sector, M&M, said on the sidelines of a CII event in New Delhi yesterday.

The electric Verito, which was co-developed by Mahindra Reva along with the e2o, was first showcased at the Delhi Auto Expo last year.

''The prototype is ready. Verito is a heavier car than the e2o. There has to be adjustment and optimisation of the technology, and we will be ready to launch it in a year's time,'' said Goenka.

Reva has also worked with M&M to co-develop electric versions of its light commercial vehicles Gio and Maxximo, which are almost in the final stage, he said.

M&M, Goenka said, already has a fleet of 50 electric Maxximos and the company plans to commercially launch the LCV after assessing the response to the e2o.

The company plans to invest Rs150 crore for development of the electric Gio, Maxximo and Verito models. But this would depend more on the response to e2o, he said.

Though there are a lot of enquiries, the conversions are less due to customer inertia, Goenka said, adding that the company was hoping to sell 400-500 units a month in the domestic market.

The e2o was first launched in Delhi where the government provides a higher subsidy of 29 per cent on electric cars. It would be launched in other cities in a phased manner, he said.

A release issued by the company said Mahindra Reva has been working hard to create a sustainable technology ecosystem for EVs like the `Sun2Car' technology developed through the creation of personal solar charging units. This, when fully developed, would provide the user with sufficient energy to power an EV for life, making available energy free for life!