It looks like Twitter has turned out to be the platform for head honchos of auto companies to discuss about the future of India's electric vehicle industry. It all started with a tweet from Elon Musk, CEO of electric vehicle specialist Tesla, on India's commitment to sell only electric cars by 2030, on Thursday.
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Anand Mahindra, executive chairman of Mahindra Group, who is active on social media, had replied to Musk and invited him to India. "Time you got out here Elon. You don't want to leave that whole market to Mahindra do you?? The more the merrier--and greener..!," Anand Mahindra tweeted in his signature style on Friday. In response, Elon musk tweeted "Good point."
Interestingly, another Indian automaker, Tata Motors joined the conversation on Friday by tweeting "Sending an electric bus to pick you both up!." For the uninitiated, Tata Motors is currently undertaking test runs of its nine-metre and 12-metre electric buses across the country.
Sending an electric bus to pick you both up! https://t.co/zr4vWDMxnf https://t.co/jf1e2gv93h
— Tata Motors (@TataMotors) June 2, 2017
It needs to be noted that Elon Musk's Tesla, Anand Mahindra's Mahindra Electric and Tata Motors are the leading companies planning to make the most from the shift towards electric mobility in India. Tesla's India entry is still not finalised despite Elon Musk's increased interest. Musk tweeted in May over India's complex local sourcing norms for a foreign company. This is said to be an indication of possible delay in Tesla's India debut.
Time you got out here Elon. You don't want to leave that whole market to Mahindra do you?? The more the merrier--and greener..! https://t.co/IPoA9viDRN
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) June 2, 2017
On the other hand, Mahindra Electric has recently announced that it will go full on to capitalise the shift towards EVs. Mahindra Electric's Chakan plant will soon ramp up monthly production of EVs from the current 400 units to 5,000 units. The country's first and only electric four-wheeler brand is also working on EVs that can achieve top speeds of 200kmph and travel up to 400km.
Tata Motors is also working on a couple of EVs for India. Autocar has reported Tata Motors will launch Tiago electric as its first passenger EV model. The carmaker has been working on electric vehicles with UK-based Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) who leading the charge in the development work.
