Brand’s first battery product, just launched in India, could be the pathfinder on NZ soil.

INDIA’S first home-developed electric car, recently released on its home turf, seems set to be offered in New Zealand, but not until it has satisfied maker Mahindra in international trials.

Potentially, that process for the XUV 400 will take at least a year, but that shouldn’t be considered a signal of when availability here might kick off, says Joydeep Moitra, a brand high-up visiting New Zealand today for Mahindra’s relaunch.

“We have plans for New Zealand. We are not going to do hybrid, we are going to jump straight into electrics, we have a full range planned which will take around three years to roll out.

“Yes, there is a plan for NZ. We definitely want to target NZ.”

Moitra has indicated the model it released today, a petrol-reliant sports utility called XUV700, will be a candidate for electrification.

It arrives for now in $36,990 AX 5 five seater and $40,990 AX 7 seven seater format, the latter also with a flagship $43,990 ‘L’ trim.

The common 2.0-litre engine, which makes 149kW and 380Nm and marries to a six-speed automatic, attracts a $2357 Clean Car penalty with 227 grams per kilometre CO2.

Set to compete with the Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail, the XUV700 will be followed in June by another petrol model, the Scorpio-N, which though similar in styling and dimension is a five seater on a different platform. A diesel XUV700 is also probable.

Mahindra first sought to establish here in 2018, then with a small utility vehicle called the Pik Up it still sells. But the brand’s rollout was stymied when the coronavirus outbreak inhibited supply.

As much as it sees good business from selling the petrol SUVs, it sees its ultimate future as being with electric cars.

The first of those is XUV 400 which has just gone on sale in India.

It is fully battery-wed sister to a compact petrol XUV 300, also likely to come to New Zealand.

XUV 400 is built with two battery size choices, the EC with a 34.5kWh battery with a cited ranged of 375 kilometres and the EL with a 39.4kWh unit and 456kms’ range.

Moitra, who heads Mahindra’s efforts in the Asia Pacific, was loathe to speak too much about the XUV 400 today, saying the occasion was more about XUV 700.

But he has acknowledged his brand plans to release five EVs within the next five years, some based on existing products and others wholly new developments.

Mahindra, as India’s biggest domestic car brand, is taking a lead knowing India is keen to become a world leader in electric vehicle development.

This impetus is driven by the sub-continent having last year become the world's third-largest automotive market, beating Japan, with vehicle sales topping 4.5 million, with more growth expected as more of its one billion population start driving.

Moitra also agrees Kiwi interest in electrics cannot be ignored and, further, is so much stronger here than in Australia that New Zealand will likely achieve priority for the EVs. Both countries will take Mahindra vehicles in common specification.