In a surprise move, Mahindra Electric Mobility has announced Mahesh Babu,CEO and MD of Mahindra Electric Mobility (MEML) stepping down to pursue interests outside the company. Consequently Suman Mishra , sr VP, Business transformation , Insight and Analytics , automotive sector will take over as chief executive of MEML and chief executive designate of Last Mile Mobility business with effect from August 14.
Experts say Mishra is a transformation specialist , with expertise in strategy and partnerships .
Informed sources also say that Martin Murray the CTO of the business is likely to move on too.
Mahindra’s EV business is clearly at an inflection point.
While Mahindra has failed to crack the personal EV segment, , the UV major is seeing larger traction in last mile mobility with its three wheelers and smaller four wheelers for goods and people transport with products like Treo range and the eAlfa.
The auto major recently merged Mahindra Electric into Mahindra and in this situation will not need an external investment in the business, experts said.
Earlier in March 2021, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited consolidated Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited (MEML), a step-down subsidiary, into the company.
The consolidation was laid down to categorize EV operations into two focused verticals: Last Mile mobility (LMM) and Electric Vehicle Tech Centre.
Rajesh Jejurikar, the executive director, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited had then said, “Electric vehicles will be the future of the automotive business. To be future-ready, we believe that EV should be part of the core and mainstream business.”
“This intent to consolidate is a part of our EV strategy which aims to electrify various segments that will popularise e-mobility. We will continue to draw upon our deep understanding of customer needs to bring in exciting new products in the EV space,” he had said.
The restructuring is aimed to provide the LMM vertical complete ownership of the value chain to drive growth and execution. It will also enable the EV Tech Centre with the depth of resources and synergy with M&M’s larger ecosystem of product development capability in MRV, North America, and Europe while exploring partnerships and alliances.
