Mahindra launches an EV with a battery not included as standard

Mahindra has debuted a new electric vehicle (EV) that you can buy in India – but you don’t get the battery pack included in the cost.

As a means of reducing the buy-in price for its small BE 6 electric SUV, Mahindra has introduced a new Battery as a Service (BaaS) option for those shopping on a budget.

In essence, this brings down the cost of the car to a level that wouldn’t be possible if you were paying for the vehicle in its entirety.

Instead you buy the car, which is fitted with a 59kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with cells sourced from BYD in the case of the BE 6, and you pay a per-kilometre rate to use the battery pack.

The rate for the BE 6 for approved customers is 3.75 Indian Rupees per kilometre, which is about A$0.05 per km. So, simply, it’s $5 per 100km to use the battery, and that doesn’t include charging.

For some, it would make sense. And it makes a fair bit of financial sense when it comes to the cost difference.

In the BE 6, a customer in India can choose a 59kWh battery pack variant like the BE 6 One with the battery included for INR 19.45 lakh (A$28,990).

But that cost can be reduced to just INR 11.45 lakh (A$16,790) if the customer chooses the BaaS version under Mahindra’s so-called Go with the Flo plan.

Users will need to sign up for an eight-year plan when choosing the rental plan, with a minimum level of use required for the tenure of the plan of 1800km per month, or about 60km per day.

Mahindra says users can opt out of the usage plan and buy the battery to complete the car by paying the calculated remainder, but for those want to ride it out for the full eight-year plan, there are a couple of options: continued rental (a new lease with updated rates and terms); or pay the residual and take full ownership.

As for the BE 6 itself, there are multiple derivatives to pick from.

The entry-level Pack One and Pack Two models have the option of the 59kWh BaaS battery rental program, or buying outright, with both variants having an INR 8.0 lakh (A$11,780) discount for the rental program.

The other models step up in battery size, with a 70kWh option for the Three and Three+ models, and a 79kWh battery option in the Three+, Four, Launch Edition, Freedom Edition and Freedom Edition Four.

The most expensive BE 6 costs the equivalent of A$39,680.

The updated version of the BE 6, badged the BE 6 Sporteq, sees a revised interior on the majority of models, including a three-screen panel design (including a passenger entertainment screen) and a more open cabin treatment than the original BE 6.

There are still some versions with the “Halo” cabin design, which essentially encapsulates the driver in a race-car-style cockpit zone – and according to the company’s head of design, Pratap Bose, while some customers “loved the original design”, feedback from potential owners was that the interior wasn’t what they were into.

Mahindra has yet to lock in the BE 6, or indeed any of its EVs, for Australia.

The Indian automaker isn’t the first to offer a subscription model for EV batteries.

Chinese automaker Nio was a pioneer in this space, introducing its BaaS program in 2020, while also offering owners the option to visit battery-swapping stations.

In India, Tata also introduced a BaaS option for its Punch.ev this year.

MORE: Explore the Mahindra showroom