New Delhi: Tata Motors Ltd and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M) Ltd are facing off once again, this time in electric engines.

Both are speeding up their work on developing electric powertrains for their small commercial vehicles in the sub 2-tonne category.

A Friend in need is a friend indeed. This old adage aptly sums up the second coming of the Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Ford Motor Company (Ford) alliance. The two auto majors had first floated an equal (50:50) joint venture (JVs) 23 years ago, in 1995, around the time when the fourth phase of economic reforms (1998-2006) had kicked in, with easier FDI norms and an accent on inducting new technologies.

Mahindra and Mahindra and the India subsidiary of Ford Motor have signed five non-binding agreements, furthering the accord signed between them last September, Mahindra said.

The two automobile makers would be collaborating on multiple areas including connected vehicle projects, electric battery vehicles, development of compact sports utility vehicles (SUVs), B-segment SUVs and power trains.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Ford India are likely to formalise a memorandum of understanding that they signed six months ago and establish a partnership in the coming week to 10 days, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

They are likely to share vehicle architecture, electric powertrains, common sourcing and leverage each other’s distribution network in the first phase, they said.

Mahindra and Mahindra expects to conclude the financial year with a record sales of medium and heavy duty trucks, Vinod K Sahay, chief executive officer, Mahindra Truck and Bus Division said at a press briefing.

It plans to deliver 10,000 units by fiscal end, the highest since the company entered the heavy duty segment a decade ago. The maker of Blazo branded trucks sold 6714 units in the corresponding period last year.

Almost a decade after Mahindra and Mahindra rode into the US market with its tractors and created the so-called hobby farming segment, the Anand Mahindra-led firm is betting on yet another niche offering to make deeper inroads into the US. The ROXOR, an off-road sports utility vehicle that Mahindra and Mahindra unveiled in Detroit, Michigan, last weekend, could well be automaker’s entry ticket into world’s most competitive and demanding auto market.

Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra and Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem signed a deal to collaborate in the field of advanced lithium-ion power storage technology.

LG Chem will develop a unique cell exclusively for India application and also supply Li-ion batteries based on NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) chemistry with high energy density.

The government’s decision against formulating an electric vehicle policy may not be good news for Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), the country’s biggest electric car maker. But a bigger setback could be around the corner for the sport utility vehicle (SUV) major.

The government is considering levying a goods and services tax (GST) cess on passenger vehicles (PV) based on length and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from FY19 against the current criteria of length and engine capacity.

Calcutta: Close on the heels of picking up a 16 per cent stake in Zoomcar for Rs 176 crore, domestic automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has zeroed in on another automotive technology firm, Carnot Technologies Private Limited.

M&M has signed an agreement to acquire 1,296 equity shares and subscribe up to 6,074 compulsory convertible cumulative preference shares, translating into a 22.9 per cent stake in the Mumbai-based Carnot. The cost of acquisition is estimated at Rs 6.06 crore.

Self-drive car rental start-up Zoomcar has raised $40 million in a Series C funding round led by auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M). The funding round also saw participation from existing investors. M&M will be investing `176 crore for a near 16% stake in the company.

The investment by M&M assumes significance given recent comments by its chairman Anand Mahindra in support of shared mobility.

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