According to reports, the Volkswagen Group is looking for a partner in India. The carmaker is also ready to sell its stake in its wholly owned Indian subsidiary Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt. Limited. Ltd. (SAVIPL) According to media reports, Volkswagen is interested in partnering with another automaker to share the investments required and associated risks for the transition from ICE to EV platforms. This is something like what MG Motor did with JSW Group in India.
VW is willing to dilute its 100 percent stake in its Indian subsidiary provided there are strong synergies in sharing the platform and parts sourcing. There have been reports suggesting that SAVIPL has already started work on low-cost electric SUVs based on the MEB21G platform. The project, codenamed PEAK EV, requires a minimum investment of €1 billion and will produce four different SUVs before the end of the decade. The VW Group had previously held talks with Tata Motors and the Chinese SAIC. The latter will be out of the question considering India isn’t friendly to Chinese investments.
The automaker also held discussions with Mahindra to explore the possibility of sharing the MEB21G architecture. However, the two companies recently signed an agreement that allows Mahindra to use MEB’s component bin for its INGLO electric platform. Big names who are interested in getting into the auto space have a chance to do so.
