Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra said it will invest Rs 500 cr at its Chakan plant in Maharashtra for product development and capacity enhancement in its electric vehicle operations.

The investment is in addition to the Rs 6,500 cr expansion program that is already going on at the plant that also makes non-EV models, India’s biggest SUV maker said.

The company said Maharashtra’s ‘Electric Vehicle Policy’ helped to bring the investment to the plant.

“We would like to thank the Government of Maharashtra for its new EV Policy which is a proactive step in electric mobility,” Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra.

He said his company will lead from the front in promoting the shift to electric, which “could result in a paradigm shift in the passenger commuting segment, considerably mitigating air pollution.”

Indian automakers have been told in no uncertain terms by the central government that it plans to phase out internal combustion engines over the next decade or so, and no amount of lobbying will change that.

As such, Indian carmakers such as Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra have been increasing their investments into the EV sector.

“We would like to showcase for the whole country the viability and benefits of EV through our EV Project,” Goenka said.

M&M is a part of the US $19 billion Mahindra Group and is present in both personal and commercial vehicle segments in India.

The company also bought India’s most famous EV start-up, REVA, and converted it to e2o, the most affordable electric car in the country today.