India–EU FTA doesn’t impact M&M negatively, Mahindra Group CEO Anish Shah
Mahindra Group CEO & Managing Director Anish Shah says the India–EU FTA is very “carefully worded” and a win for both Europe and India.
- Feb 11, 2026,
- Updated Feb 11, 2026 3:06 PM IST
Mahindra Group managing director and CEO Anish Shah on Wednesday clarified that the India–EU free trade agreement will not impact Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) domestic sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales.
“There has been a lot of conversation about how the India–EU FTA will impact us. There are various European models in India today. Take any of those models; I won’t name specific ones. That OEM cannot make them in the EU (European Union), pay the shipping cost to send it here, bear the inventory cost for that time and have it come to India cheaper than what they already have here. So, it doesn’t impact us from a competitive standpoint at all,” Shah told reporters after the Mumbai-headquartered automaker announced its third-quarter results.
The India–EU free trade agreement slashes the tariffs on cars imported from European nations gradually from 110% to 10% with a quota of 250,000 vehicles a year. The deal divides car imports from the European Union into three price slabs, each with a different quota.
Shah, however, added that the FTA could impact India if the economy is fully opened.
“It does impact India if the economy is completely opened. There is a possibility that people may use unused capacity in Europe to send vehicles to India and close down plants in India. Some manufacturers announced the closure of plants in Europe. But why would you close a plant in your home country when you can close it somewhere else? This is where I would give the government a lot of credit. They balanced it well,” Shah explained.
The government opened the economy to allow more cars to be imported into India, which is a positive, he said. “At the same time, they set it up in a manner where European carmakers do not shut their plants in India. They would keep their plants in India open and look at a bigger market in India,” Shah added.
The Mahindra Group CEO said he wants more manufacturers to set up plants in India. “That is good for the Indian economy. That is good for us as a manufacturer. That creates a bigger ecosystem. That makes us more competitive. The reason China is very competitive is because of the scale it has. We want that scale in India,” he stated.
“We are fully aligned with the government on that. And that is exactly what they have done in setting up an FTA that is very carefully worded. It’s a win for both parties – Europe and India. But it takes away the negatives,” said Shah.
Talking about opportunities for M&M from the India–EU FTA, Shah said the opportunity comes from the standpoint that India can sell 2.5 times what’s coming into Europe and do that at a 0% duty. “That’s an opportunity which is meaningful for us, and that is something we will take advantage of as time goes on,” Shah said.
Mahindra Group managing director and CEO Anish Shah on Wednesday clarified that the India–EU free trade agreement will not impact Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) domestic sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales.
“There has been a lot of conversation about how the India–EU FTA will impact us. There are various European models in India today. Take any of those models; I won’t name specific ones. That OEM cannot make them in the EU (European Union), pay the shipping cost to send it here, bear the inventory cost for that time and have it come to India cheaper than what they already have here. So, it doesn’t impact us from a competitive standpoint at all,” Shah told reporters after the Mumbai-headquartered automaker announced its third-quarter results.
The India–EU free trade agreement slashes the tariffs on cars imported from European nations gradually from 110% to 10% with a quota of 250,000 vehicles a year. The deal divides car imports from the European Union into three price slabs, each with a different quota.
Shah, however, added that the FTA could impact India if the economy is fully opened.
“It does impact India if the economy is completely opened. There is a possibility that people may use unused capacity in Europe to send vehicles to India and close down plants in India. Some manufacturers announced the closure of plants in Europe. But why would you close a plant in your home country when you can close it somewhere else? This is where I would give the government a lot of credit. They balanced it well,” Shah explained.
The government opened the economy to allow more cars to be imported into India, which is a positive, he said. “At the same time, they set it up in a manner where European carmakers do not shut their plants in India. They would keep their plants in India open and look at a bigger market in India,” Shah added.
The Mahindra Group CEO said he wants more manufacturers to set up plants in India. “That is good for the Indian economy. That is good for us as a manufacturer. That creates a bigger ecosystem. That makes us more competitive. The reason China is very competitive is because of the scale it has. We want that scale in India,” he stated.
“We are fully aligned with the government on that. And that is exactly what they have done in setting up an FTA that is very carefully worded. It’s a win for both parties – Europe and India. But it takes away the negatives,” said Shah.
Talking about opportunities for M&M from the India–EU FTA, Shah said the opportunity comes from the standpoint that India can sell 2.5 times what’s coming into Europe and do that at a 0% duty. “That’s an opportunity which is meaningful for us, and that is something we will take advantage of as time goes on,” Shah said.