MAHLE pushes ahead with its activities in the area of alternative drives

The MAHLE Group is consistently implementing its dual strategy and further expanding its position as a systems provider for alternative drive concepts. In India, the group has increased its holding in the former joint venture MAHLE Letrika Roots India from 50 to 90%.

The future unit, MAHLE Electric Drives India, based in Coimbatore in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, will initially focus on the development and production of electric traction motors and control units for the new and promising market segments of electric two- and three-wheelers. The first components are expected to leave the production line as early as April 2020. Activities in this area are to be extended to other vehicle segments in the future.

The increase in the shareholding in MAHLE Letrika Roots India comes at a strategically favorable time. Early this year, the Indian government announced its plans for a comprehensive subsidy program that will drive forward the expansion of e-mobility in India. For MAHLE, this opens up new opportunities for further sustainable growth in this important market in the future.

In quantitative terms, India is the world’s biggest market for two- and three-wheelers. Like many European and Asian countries, India is currently actively driving the transition to alternative drive concepts with the electrification of its vehicle segments.

MAHLE is a leading international development partner and supplier to the automotive industry as well as a pioneer in the mobility of the future. The MAHLE Group is committed to making transportation more efficient, more environmentally friendly, and more comfortable by continuously optimizing the combustion engine, driving forward the use of alternative fuels, and laying the foundation for the worldwide introduction of e-mobility.

The group’s product portfolio addresses all the crucial issues relating to the powertrain and air conditioning technology—both for drives with combustion engines and for e-mobility. MAHLE products are fitted in at least every second vehicle worldwide. Components and systems from MAHLE are also used off the road—in stationary applications, for mobile machinery, rail transport, as well as marine applications.

In 2018, the group generated sales of approximately EUR12.6 billion (USD) with more than 79,000 employees and is represented in more than 30 countries with 160 production locations. At 16 major research and development centers in Germany, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Spain, Slovenia, the U.S.A., Brazil, Japan, China, and India, more than 6,100 development engineers and technicians are working on innovative solutions for the mobility of the future.