To ride the EV wave, M&M takes premium path, Tata Motors bets on scale

Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors are pursuing sharply different strategies to deepen their footprint in India's expanding electric vehicle (EV) market, with the former betting on premium e-SUVs and profitability, and the latter focusing on scale through a broader product and powertrain strategy.

A review of the automakers' FY26 annual reports and other investor disclosures showed both are making fundamentally different bets on how the Indian EV market will evolve in the coming years. Mahindra expects e-SUVs to comprise 18-20% of its EV penetration over the next five years. Tata is targeting EVs at around 30% of its passenger vehicle sales by the turn of the decade.

The divergence is also evident in their financial disclosures. Mahindra's e-SUV business generated ₹15,089 crore in revenue in FY26 on sales of 50,835 vehicles, with EV revenue share at 34.8%, while posting a 9.1% Ebitda margin and 2% EBIT margin. The company also said it emerged as India's No. 1 e-SUV player by revenue market share.

Tata Motors' electric PV business, by comparison, generated ₹13,410 crore in revenue in FY26, up 63.8% year-on-year, while volumes rose 43% to 92,179 units, making it country's largest passenger EV business by scale. Tata continues to report EV profitability as part of its broader PV operations, unlike Mahindra's standalone EV disclosures.

Mahindra's strategy is centred on born-electric e-SUVs, premium positioning, and platform-led efficiencies. The company plans to have six BEVs, or born-electric e-SUVs, by FY31-implying its road map adds six new e-SUVs beyond its FY26 launch base-betting that higher-value products and platform economics will help sustain profitability as competition intensifies.

Tata is pursuing a broader strategy aimed at expanding the EV market. Speaking at a media briefing ahead of the electric Sierra SUV launch in Mumbai last week, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility MD Shailesh Chandra said company measures success through customer adoption, while stressing that its revenue market share has been growing faster than volume share. As market gets more premium, Tata's portfolio strategy will continue to evolve with shifts in the market's median price point, allowing revenue growth to outpace volume growth as demand moves towards higher-value vehicles, he said.

Analysts are divided over which strategy will create greater shareholder value. "If electrification picks up, Tata will gain from broader portfolio and higher volume potential," said an analyst. "Mahindra's EV line-up, based on a born-electric platform, will withstand competition better," said another analyst.