Mahindra & Mahindra has been following the tradition of launching a new vehicle every year on 15 August, but this year the company has made it clear that no new car will be launched this time. Instead, the company will show a completely new vehicle manufacturing technology i.e. vehicle platform, which will form the basis of many models in the coming years.
Big announcement by Rajesh Jijurikar
Mahindra’s Auto and Farm Sector CEO Rajesh Jijurikar said in a recent press meeting that on August 15, the company will only show a glimpse of a new vehicle platform. No production ready or launch ready model will be introduced this time.
He also said that this new platform will be used in vehicles coming after 2027. Although a glimpse of concept models related to this platform can be seen on August 15, it is not yet clear how many concepts will be shown or which category they will belong to.
New platform – may be named NFA
It is believed that the platform that the company is going to show will be called “New Flexible Architecture” i.e. NFA. It will be a modern structure on which petrol, diesel, hybrid and fully electric vehicles can be made. With this technology, Mahindra’s vehicles will become more strong, light and environmentally friendly.
Information about the new production plan
The company also said that it is working on a plan to create an additional annual production capacity of 1.2 lakh vehicles at Chakan plant in Maharashtra. Future vehicles based on NFA platform will be manufactured in this plant.
17 new models will come by 2030
Rajesh Jijurikar also revealed in his presentation that the company is preparing to bring a total of 17 new models by 2030. These include 7 new ICE (petrol/diesel) SUVs, 5 passenger EVs (electric vehicles) and 5 light commercial vehicles (LCV). Of the ICE SUVs, two will be facelifts and the remaining five will be completely new models. Similarly, the LCV segment will have three petrol-diesel and two electric models.
These vehicles will come in 2026
The vehicles that the company will introduce in the year 2026 will include:
- Two facelifted ICE SUVs
- One all-new ICE SUV
- Two electric passenger vehicles
- One ICE LCV
- One electric LCV
Will the new Bolero come this year?
Many media reports said that the new Bolero could come in 2026 and it will be based on this NFA platform. But Jijurikar made it clear that this platform will not be used before 2027. In such a situation, even if the new Bolero comes, it will not be based on NFA but on existing technology.
Focus on EV and preparation for CAFE norms
Mahindra believes that if the third phase of CAFE rules are implemented in the year 2027, then the company will have to convert about 25% of its portfolio into electric vehicles. Keeping this in mind, the company is increasing its focus on EVs from now on.
