The Futurist

Much like the cars he makes, Anand Mahindra knows how to adapt to a fast-changing landscape. One of India’s first industrialist-evangelists for electric mobility, he’s going all out to usher in the electric age with the launch of Automobili Pininfarina – making him a global frontrunner in the dash toward s an emission-free future.

- Parth Charan

“ You never create something new by following convention,” a visibly relaxed Anand Mahindra tells me as large crowds fill up the grandstand to watch the first ever Roman E-Prix. Admittedly, convention couldn’t be found within miles of where we’re seated. Dozens of high-powered electric race cars are zipping around in the middle of the Italian capital. The new kid on the block, Formula E, seems to have caught on in a country synonymous with F1 and Ferrari. Mahindra, however, is referring to the contradictory nature of his latest venture: Automobili Pininfarina, which he chooses to define with the term “sustainable luxury”.

It’s a bold claim, considering that sustaining the luxury of everyday mobility has us draining oil reserves faster than our morning coffee. Which is why Automobili Pininfarina will be a maker of high-end, high-performance electric cars.

In order to effectively join the dots between Mahindra & Mahindra – an automotive brand whose origins lie in agricultural India – and Pininfarina – an Italian design house that’s given the 20th century its most sensational automobiles – one doesn’t have to look back too far. Last year, when Anand casually mused over a 2006 Pininfarina car concept on Twitter, an uninformed user inquired why he didn’t just buy the car. In one of his many mic drop moments, Anand simply responded, “We bought the company instead.”