Tag Archives: mahindra
Pininfarina Launches EV Brand, Hypercar To Come In 2020
Pininfarina launched Automobili Pininfarina on Friday in Rome. The brand will focus on the conceptualization and the production of electric vehicles. Pininfarina’s parent company, Mahindra, is currently in Rome to compete in this weekend’s Formula E Championship round.
Battista Pininfarina said that launching a car brand is a dream come true for him. Thanks to the financial backing of Mahindra, these dreams are coming into fruition.
The cars that will be produced under the new brand will be prestigious and luxurious, true to Pininfarina’s name and reputation. The first model will arrive this year as the production version of the H2 Speed concept that was shown at the 2016 Geneva motor show. The H2 Speed is a track-only electric supercar that uses a hydrogen fuel cell stack instead of batteries. There will only be 12 units in production.
But on Friday, during the launch of the Automobili Pininfarina, the company said that the flagship model of the brand will arrive in 2020. The vehicle will use a technology formulated by Rimac and Mahindra’s Formula E team. Power output will most likely be 1,480 horsepower, similar to the Bugatti Chiron. But much like the H2 Speed, too, there will only be a few units in production.
Rimac, as we can all remember, recently revealed C_Two hypercar that can produce as much as 1,914 horses from its four electric motors.
Don’t fret, though. Even if you can’t get your hands on the flagship model from Pininfarina’s new car brand, you can get dibs on other Pininfarina models, which will be built in higher volumes. This would include sedans and SUVs.
This is not the first time Pininfarina would venture into the production of cars. The company has been actively building various cars for companies, including the Volvo C70. It also has quite an experience producing electric cars such as the BlueCar electric hatch developed by French firm Bollore.
Ford And Mahindra To Come Out With New Crossover And EV
Something is finally coming out of the partnership between Ford and Mahindra that was inked way back in September 2017.
According to reports, the two brands are partnering to come up with a crossover and an electric vehicle. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that the planned crossover has anything to do with Ford’s plans in the same segment. Simply put, Ford wants to put its mark in the Indian auto market.
What we now understand about the agreement on the SUV is that Ford will be doing majority of the work using Mahindra’s equipment, which interestingly included the platform on which the SUV will be built on. This means that Mahindra, even as a partner to Ford, will stay out of the plans in producing the 2020 Bronco.
Aside from the SUV crossover, the two companies are also producing an electric vehicle to compete with the likes of Tesla. Although details are still unknown, this could be a huge stepping stone for Mahindra to finally sink its teeth on the US market, either under its own name or the sub-brand Pininfarina. Mahindra already has headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, so the first step has already been casted.
Mahinda previously reiterated its plan to make its presence known in the US market. An EV made in collaboration with a beloved American company, Ford, could be the linchpin that will make that happen.
Ford and Mahindra are working on a lot more than a crossover and EV. Those two are just part of the grand scheme of things, which include developing new initiatives and technologies that could open the door for future projects in the US and in India.
Jim Farley, Ford’s executive vice president and president of Global Markets, said that his company’s aim is to offer the best vehicles that will fit the lifestyles of the Indian market.