British International Investment

Mahindra Electric Automobile Limited

South AsiaManufacturing

Mahindra Electric Automobile Limited (MEAL) is a new four-wheeler passenger electric vehicle venture company launched by Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), a leading Indian automotive group.

Our investment

Description of the investment.

Our partnership with M&M is designed to accelerate availability and adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in India and other markets by supporting homegrown vehicle manufacturers. We are partnering with a company which has committed to climate targets of which the transition to electric vehicles is an important component. The investment will in-turn support an ecosystem of auto-component manufacturers and make electric vehicles more accessible to customers.

Impact information

Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.

What?

Impact
  • Greater environmental sustainability via adoption of clean technologies (SDG 9.4).
  • Contribution towards climate change mitigation (SDG 13.A).
  • Additional impact from reduced number of deaths and illnesses from air pollution (SDG 3.9); supporting economic opportunities (SDG 8.5)

How?

Primary Secondary
  • Direct: The investment will result in reduction of carbon emissions resulting from adoption of electric four-wheel vehicles instead of conventional fuel vehicles. The investment will also result in direct job creation at the company within a low carbon and resilient sector, in line with just transition principles. It will also support indirect job creation in the supply chain for electrical vehicles and at dealer level.
  • Indirect: The investment has the potential to demonstrate the commercial viability of electric four-wheel vehicles by encouraging local manufacturing and improving their availability in India, supporting a transition to net zero and reducing negative pollution impacts.

Who?

Stakeholder Geography Characteristics
Planet

Global

India is the world’s third largest CO2 emitter and home to 22 out of the world's 30 most polluted cities. There are 1.4 million deaths in India alone from air pollution every year leading to 1.36 per cent of GDP in 2019 (World Bank). Tailpipe emissions account for 65-80 per cent of an automobile’s emissions hence transition to electric vehicles is expected to accelerate to cleaner transport

Employees (direct / indirect)

India

This investment aims to ensure that women participate in green manufacturing in India and create jobs in this sector. An estimated 8,000+ jobs will be created. Mahindra Electric Automobile Limited (MEAL) will aim for women to comprise at least 25 per cent of shop floor staff and 15 per cent of its primary supplier workforce by 2027.

How much?

Scale Depth/Duration

8,000 new jobs to be created through the new initiative.

Greenhouse gas emissions saved is estimated at 0.95 – 1.45 TCO2e over the vehicles lifetime (15 years).

Contribution/additionality

Contribution/additionality
  • Value additionality: MEAL is a 2X qualified investment under the 'Leadership' criteria, based on a commitment to 33 per cent women on the Board of Directors. As part of its 2X qualification, the company will aim for 30 per cent women in senior management, 25 per cent of women in shop floor jobs and 15 per cent women among MEAL’s primary supplier workforce. Further value-add will focus on specific initiatives which aim to recruit, retain and support women to advance within MEAL's workforce.

Impact score

Impact score (at point of investment)

The Impact Score is a tool to help us manage our performance against our strategic impact objectives. It is designed to incentivise investments that support our productive, sustainable, and inclusive objectives. You can find out more here.

The Impact Score is published for investments made from 2022 onwards. The Impact Scores are calculated at the point of investment. We publish the Impact Scores of new investments annually, once the information has been externally assured by an independent third party.

7

Environmental and social information

  • Environmental and social summary

    A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.

  • Environmental and social risk

    A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.

Environmental and social summary

BII's investment in Mahindra Electric Automobile Limited is progressively addressing evolving risks in the EV space, aligning the investee to international E&S standards. BII's ESG value add is firmly anchored in a long-term ambitious action plan with a life cycle approach across the value chain - supply chain management including EV batteries, Circular economy, EV charging infrastructure and Net Zero Strategy for EV Co and sets aspirational standards for the entire EV space in India.

Environmental and social risk

Medium-High

Reporting and Complaints Mechanism

The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to reportsandcomplaints@bii.co.uk or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.

For any other general enquiries contact us at enquiries@bii.co.uk

  • Key facts

    Last updated

    When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.

    :
    December 2024
    Project number

    An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.

    :
    D5729
    Status

    The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).

    :
    Active
    Region

    The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.

    :
    South Asia
    Country

    The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.

    :
    India
    Sector

    We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.

    :
    Business and consumer services
    Sub sector:
    Automobiles

    We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.

    For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.

    For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.

    For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.

    For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.

    For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.

    For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.

    The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.

    For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.

    The currency in which the investment was made.

    Investment type :
    Equity
    Start date :
    July 2022
    Amount :
    $244.6m
    Currency of investment :
    INR
    Domicile

    The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.

    :
    India
    Climate finance

    Indicates whether the investment is climate finance qualified or partially climate finance qualified and the type of climate finance (adaptation, mitigation or both). We define climate finance using the multilateral development bank (MDB) and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) Common Principles climate finance methodology. See Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking and Common Principles for Climate Change Adaptation Finance Tracking. We provide the climate finance qualification and type for commitments from 2020 onwards, which is when we launched our Climate Change Strategy.

    :
    Fully qualified
    Climate finance type:
    Mitigation
    2X Gender Finance

    Indicates whether the investment is ‘2X qualified’ using the 2X Challenge criteria. You can find out more here. It only applies to investments made from 2018 onwards, when the 2X Challenge was first launched.

    :
    Fully qualified

Subscribe to receive our latest news and updates