MG India, a wholly owned subsidiary of China’s largest auto maker SAIC Motor Corporation, is set to enter India with its premium products.
While showcasing its manufacturing expertise at its Lingang plant and R&D centre at Anting district, Shanghai, the company announced that it will hit the Indian market with a premium SUV in the C segment in the first quarter of 2019. This will be followed by a fully electric SUV a year later.
“We will be launching a product every year in India,” said Michael Yang, chief of international business, SAIC Motor Corporation, at a press conference in Shanghai.
“The global as well as Indian trend is for SUVs. We attended the MOVE summit in India and the message from the Indian government was clear. Electric vehicles are the way to go,” said Yang while explaining the choice of vehicles for launch.
While the first product will be a C-segment SUV with a 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engine, the second product will be a pure electric vehicle from SAIC’s portfolio suited for the Indian conditions.
The company is investing $500 million in India in the first phase. It has taken over GM’s Halol plant that has a capacity for 80,000 units annually “which should be enough for the first three to four years of operation”, said Yang. In the second phase, the capacity will be expanded to 2,00,000 units with a total investment of $1 billion in five years.
The first SUV with internal combustion engine will have a high level of localisation.
“We are aiming at 75 per cent localisation. Components will be built by SAIC’s own vendors who will be accommodated in the vendor’s park at Halol,” said Rajeev Chaba, managing director and president of MG Motor India.
The car will rival the likes of Hyundai’s Tucson, Honda’s new CRV and Jeep’s Compass, said the president. The electric SUV will also be manufactured at the Halol plant with the non-electrical components sourced locally.
Of the cars showcased, the petrol SUV MG HS has a 1.5-litre turbo engine. This could be MG India’s launch pad. It also showcased the eRX5 and the Marvel X, both EVs, either of which could be MG India’s second product.
