Windsor will become our top seller, raising EV share in sales to over 50% by year-end: JSW MG Motor CEO Emeritus Rajeev Chaba

According to JSW MG Motor India CEO Emeritus, the Windsor EV will attract those “fringe customers” who have been thinking about EV but have not bought it as they were waiting for the “right product"

JSW MG Motor India is betting big on Windsor EV to drive volumes as it looks to transform its existing portfolio from conventional Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEVs) to those run on hybrids and electric powertrains.

The company’s top executive expressed optimism that the newly launched car, with its affordable price tag, will attract ICEV buyers and become its biggest volume driver in the medium term.

“Windsor EV should be the largest selling car in our current portfolio,” Rajeev Chaba, JSW MG Motor India CEO Emeritus told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interaction. “We are one of the first ones to push the whole EVfication. With this car, you can actually afford (an EV) if you have a budget of (Rs) 10 lakh only. It means in tier three, tier four, tier five cities, people would definitely be interested in this kind of a car.”

When asked about the sales target for this model, he said, “It all depends on the evolution of this whole market. I feel the numbers will only keep going up from here onwards.” He said the company, in the initial phase, will produce around 3,000 units per month, which will be eventually ramped up once there is adequate demand.

The battery USP

Without revealing the ex-showroom price of the Windsor, the company is offering the vehicle at a price of Rs 9.99 lakh plus Rs 3.5/km for the battery. It has also introduced an ownership plan through a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering and claimed that owning the Windsor, an electric CUV, will be at the price equivalent of a manual engine-based compact SUV.

“We are going to sell this EV in a unique way which has not been attempted in our country so far. We are selling battery as a solution, so anybody who has a budget of 10 lakh rupees, which most of the Indian car consumers right now have, can look at this car, added Chaba.

According to Chaba, the Windsor EV will attract those “fringe customers” who have been thinking about EV but have not bought it as they were waiting for the “right product”. “So at least it should start appealing to the wider audience,” he said.

Without mentioning any model names, Chaba hinted that the Windsor EV can entice sub-compact SUV buyers like Brezza and Venue as well as those looking for models like Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, etc.

“We want to penetrate into the larger passenger vehicle segment. We don't want to really sell this car as an EV but like an ICE. We did it with pricing and running cost of the car and by removing some doubts on the battery life and the resale price, Chaba said. However, he agreed that there will be some cannibalisation among its other battery-run cars such as Comet and ZS EV.

When asked if the company is perturbed by the slowdown in the electric passenger vehicle market, Chaba said the company has already bucked the trend by posting a 52 percent growth in EV sales during January-July 2024.

“With this car coming in, we should be doing almost more than 100 percent increase in EV sales than last year. We will definitely be the fastest penetrating EV brand,” Chaba added.

Rising EV share

Meanwhile, JSW MG Motor India has set a target to introduce a new car every four to six months and is eyeing over 50 percent of its total sales to come from EVs in 2024.

“The contribution from EVs will be more than 50 percent because right now our two e-cars are accounting for almost 35 percent of our portfolio. With this car, it should go north of 50 (percent) from October (2024) onwards,” noted Chaba.

JSW MG Motor India, which also sells Hector, Astor and Gloster in the ICE SUV segment, is looking at double-digit growth. “Last year, we did close approximately 60,000 cars. So we should be doing north of 70,000 (units),” Chaba said.