Volkswagen in ‘advanced talks’ with Mahindra on MEB platform

MUNICH (Reuters) -Volkswagen said on Monday it was in advanced talks with India’s Mahindra & Mahindra on the use of key electric components of the German carmaker’s open platform for electric vehicles (EVs), called MEB.

Mahindra plans to use central MEB components such as the e-drive and unit cells for its models, Volkswagen (ETR:) said in a statement.

Volkswagen has developed a modular, open vehicle platform for EVs, called MEB, which is used to build its cars and those of other group companies including Skoda and Audi. This also allows Volkswagen to be a supplier of electric technology and parts to other automakers.

In August, Volkswagen and Mahindra signed a term sheet under which the German carmaker would supply electric components to its Indian peer.

The carmaker was also in talks with other players about similar deals to adopt Volkswagen technology, Ludwig Fazel of Volkswagen Group Components said, though these were not finalised. He was speaking at Munich’s IAA (NYSE:) mobility show.

These included manufacturers of cars with combustion engines in Asia who were considering producing cars for the European market via a Volkswagen collaboration, he added, without providing further details.