Mahindra has inaugurated its electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing and battery assembly facility at its plant in Maharashtra, India.
The new EV manufacturing hub covers an area of 2.83 km² within Mahindra's Chakan site. This facility will be dedicated to the development and production of Mahindra's next-generation Electric Origin SUVs.
The company has allocated Rs45bn ($523m) from its F22–F27 investment cycle for this initiative.
The investment covers various aspects, including powertrain development, software and technology enhancements, and increasing manufacturing capacity.
The EV hub is designed as a fully integrated and automated manufacturing ecosystem. It features over 1,000 robots, automated transfer systems, and a focus on skill development.
Mahindra's new plant boasts an 88,000m2 footprint dedicated to EV operations. It includes a fully automated press shop, an AI-driven body shop, and robotic paint shops.
The company noted that the body shop alone deploys over 500 robots and is monitored by an IoT-based "Nerve Center" that provides real-time insights for process optimisation and traceability.
The facility also incorporates Industry 4.0 technologies, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR), and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) to ensure “seamless” material movement.
The battery assembly area utilises compact manufacturing lines with patented processes and lean module assembly.
Furthermore, the battery assembly features a patented pallet design for insulation and geometric accuracy, along with hidden cell terminal welding to ensure connectivity and durability, the company said.
The assembly line includes comprehensive end-of-line testing, IP67 ingress protection, real-time temperature monitoring, and automated anomaly isolation.
