Mahindra Steering Away From Hybrid Models: CEO Anish Shah Bets On EVs For Long-Term

At a time when most automakers are keeping their options open, the Mahindra group has chosen to shut one door firmly. Even as hybrids gain traction across the Indian vehicle market, Mahindra has doubled down on a clear position — electric vehicles, not hybrids, are the long term answer.

In a recent interview with NDTV Profit, Anish Shah, the Managing Director and CEO of the Mahindra Group, sat in the driver’s seat of 'BE6 Batman Edition' — a limited-edition SUV, that sold out 999 units in just two minutes — and spoke about the decision to back 'electric-born' vehicles, and the group's diversification plays.

"Hybrid gives you a short-term advantage,” says Shah, “But once charging infrastructure improves, that advantage goes away.

Shah's stance stands out because 2025 was almost a comeback for the hybrids. Maruti Suzuki, with its Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid, and Toyota Kirloskar Motors, with its Innova Hycross, continued to push in the hybrid direction.

Mahindra's competitors have positioned hybrid vehicles as fuel efficient, low-anxiety variants, in a market still wary of charging infra gaps, and range concerns. Hybrid variants also helped these companies balance regulatory pressure on emissions while protecting margins.

Even Tata Motors, India’s EV market leader, kept its strategy flexible — backing EVs aggressively, with their Harrier and Nexon, while also signalling openness to multiple pathways as consumer adoption evolved.

Mahindra's strategy hinges on what it calls 'Born Electric' platforms — vehicles designed ground up for EVs, rather than adapted from internal combustion engine (ICE) models. Shah argues that hybrids, which combine the two powertrains, inherit the inefficiencies of both.

"Born electric is effectively designing the vehicle for electric," he says, contrasting it with the approach many automakers initially took during the industry’s EV transition. “In the transition from ICE, all car makers initially took the ICE car, took out the engine, put batteries in, modified the powertrain, and it was an electric car,” Shah said. “That’s not efficient at all.”

According to Shah, vehicles designed specifically for EVs offer clear advantages in ride quality, handling, suspension and safety. "When you have the range these cars give you — 500 km in real-life conditions — most of our customers will charge once a week when they are driving in the city," he said.

Shah acknowledged that hybrids offer a short-term benefit where charging infrastructure is limited, particularly for longer highway drives. But he argued that this advantage is temporary. From Mahindra’s perspective, hybrids also add mechanical complexity without offering a lasting payoff.

“It’s one powertrain rather than two powertrains in the car,” Shah said, referring to EVs. He also highlighted lower running and maintenance costs, noting that EVs are cheaper to maintain because electricity costs less than fuel.

Shah was blunt in how he framed the choice. "Hybrid, as someone said, is buying a typewriter in the age of iPhones," he said.

Mahindra's choice to stay decentralised also matters here, because Mahindra is not a single business. Autos may dominate public perception, but they contribute only about a quarter of group profits. Farm equipment, services, real estate, logistics, and hospitality together make up the rest.

Shah argues that the group’s performance over the past few years owes more to decisions taken by business CEOs than to top-down mandates.

“The biggest risks are often the ones you don’t see coming,” Shah says. "What you need is the ability to move fast." From semiconductor shortages during the pandemic to more recent supply-chain constraints, the group has had to improvise — sometimes manufacturing vehicles without key components and retrofitting them later.