Indian automaker Mahindra says competition from Tesla 'does not faze us'

Mahindra Group isn't disquieted astir planetary players similar Tesla entering India's highly competitory electrical conveyance market, its CEO and managing manager Anish Shah told CNBC.

"We've seen tremendous contention successful India implicit the past 20 years. So Tesla oregon anyone other coming successful does not faze us," Shah said connected "Street Signs Asia" Tuesday. 

"At 1 point, Mahindra was written disconnected erstwhile each the planetary majors were coming into India. Today, we proceed to person the fig 1 marketplace stock successful SUVs from a gross standpoint," helium added.

Tesla is reportedly discussing plans to participate the EV abstraction successful India, which is the world's third-largest car market, according to Reuters.  

CEO Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi successful June and said helium has plans to "make important investments successful India."

Despite the planetary competition, Mahindra has "not conscionable survived but thrived" successful the Indian market, said Shah.

"We person adjacent to a 50% marketplace stock successful the airy commercialized conveyance segment. We proceed to person 40% positive marketplace stock successful workplace instrumentality and tractors," the CEO said, adding the institution expects to execute good successful the coming years.

Last week, Mahindra raised $145 million from Singapore's state-owned capitalist Temasek for its electrical conveyance portion astatine a valuation of up to 805.8 cardinal Indian rupees ($9.8 billion), successful the latest fundraising by the Indian automaker. Temasek volition instrumentality up to 3% involvement successful the EV portion Mahindra Electric Automobile Limited.

The institution said it expects EVs to marque up betwixt 20% and 30% of its full SUV income by 2027.

India's EV marketplace "will transverse income of 10 cardinal units by 2030, with an wide adoption complaint of much than 30% crossed antithetic conveyance classes," according to a study past twelvemonth by absorption consulting steadfast Arthur Little.

It noted adoption rates remained precise debased — presently astir 2% — owed to an "absence of capable EV infrastructure."

Given existent planetary proviso concatenation disruptions and the government's argumentation of making India aforesaid reliant, the study added, "It is important that India creates its ain indigenous solutions and a supporting home worth chain."

Shah highlighted that "supply concatenation evidently is an important part" for India's EV market.

"We bash person a probe halfway successful India that develops a just spot of exertion arsenic well," helium said. "But the car manufacture exertion is global. To that extent, determination is simply a dependence likewise with semiconductors. And we've seen immoderate of the challenges successful that successful the past mates of years."