British International Investment invests $250m in Indian EV venture

The UK’s development finance institution, British International Investment (BII) has announced a $250m investment in an electric vehicle (EV) venture that is being launched by one of India’s largest automobile groups, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M). The business is expected to target the fast growing Indian EV market and according to BII’s statement, “will contribute towards 2.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emission avoidance and lead to the creation of around 8,000 skilled jobs – a quarter of which is expected to be women”. BII has said that this investment is part of a broader agenda of ensuring that a minimum of 30% of BII investments are in the area of climate finance. Nick O’Donohoe, chief executive of BII, commented, “BII’s anchor investment will be key to attracting additional sources of private capital into this exciting venture with Mahindra Group. The acceleration of EV development in India will be critical to supporting the country in reaching its emission targets as well as improving air quality in many urban areas. Mahindra will play a central role in the decarbonisation of the automotive industry in India and elsewhere”.