On the sidelines of the announcement of his
company's Q2 results for 2019, Dr Pawan Goenka, managing director, Mahindra
& Mahindra revealed that the Mahindra e-KUV100, which made its debut at the
Auto Expo 2018, will launch in mid-2019.
Touted as the country's 'first electric SUV', the
Mahindra e-KUV100 will be the company's third electric vehicle after the
Mahindra eVerito and Mahindra e20 Plus. The electric version of the KUV100 dons
a slightly cleaner appearance than its fossil fuel-burning counterparts. This
goes with the car's eco-friendly nature. For the electric version, the upper
front grille of the KUV100 makes way for a similar looking panel that is devoid
of openings.
The six vertical slats on the grille-like panel and
the fog lamps have blue accents. Similar blue highlights can be found on the
car's projector headlamps. In the side profile, the Mahindra e-KUV100 features
blue accents on the machined alloy wheels and Mahindra Electric badge on the
front fenders. At the rear, the car features a grey trim for the tailgate. The
interior remains mostly unchanged.
Powering the Mahindra e-KUV100 is a 3-phase AC
induction motor that outputs a maximum power of 39.6 bhp and a torque of 91 Nm.
The electric motor draws its juice from a 72V Lithium iron phosphate (LFP)
battery pack that offers a driving range of 140 km on a single charge. The
company claims that the battery pack can be replenished to 80% of its capacity
in less than an hour through a fast charger.
The launch of the Mahindra e-KUV100 will be followed
by the introduction of the S201-based EV in 2020. The company is said to be
planning INR 4,000 crore investment in EVs by 2022.
