MG Motor India has ambitious EV plans, looks to bring cars with extended range
MG Motors country head Rajeev Chaba said that parent company SAIC has a range of product options overseas and it would be easy to bring them to India later.
December 05, 2019 / 18:33 IST
MG Motor, one of the newest entrants in the passenger vehicle space in India, will have a range of electric vehicles starting below Rs 10 lakh going up to premium extended drive range options.
On the sidelines of unveiling the ZS EV, a B-segment all-electric SUV, country head Rajeev Chaba said that MG Motors parent SAIC has a range of product options overseas and it would be easy to bring them to India later.
Slated for a commercial launch in January, the ZS EV will be MG's first fully electric product in India and only the second electric SUV in India after the Hyundai Kona. The Kona has been a runaway hit among consumers, with cars sold out for the year.
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Initially the ZS EV will be sold only in five cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru - through nine dealerships. Bookings of the ZS EV will begin towards the later part of December.
"For the purpose of scale and mass market, we need a sub-Rs 10 lakh product in the EV space. That will give us volume. We also have the option of getting to India something like 72kWh going up to 100kWh which is in the pipeline," added Chaba in an interaction with Moneycontrol.
The ZS EV is powered by 45kWh (143ps) battery pack that is built using 108 cells giving it a drive range of 340 kms on a full charge. While there is no confirmation yet on its price but the vehicle is expected to be falling in the price band of Rs 20-25 lakh.
Chaba added that MG has poured in about Rs 500 crore purely for the electric vehicle venture. The company further added that to solve the anxiety towards charging and range MG will provide and install chargers free of cost to the customers at their homes.
The company is expecting a gradual ramp up in production of the ZS EV which will be assembled at the Halol-based factory in Gujarat. While battery packs will be sourced locally for which MG is investing is a separate factory, the cells will be imported from China.
The ZS EV will be available in three driving modes that will look to maximise range, efficiency and convenience tailored to suit driving preference. The vehicle will feature the iSmart EV 2.0 technology embedded with SIM that will provide internet on board.
There will be five ways to charge the MG electric vehicles. The ZS EV will have an on-board 15amp charging cable which will become the primary source of charging the vehicle.
Fast AC chargers (full charge will take 6-8 hours) be provided for homes besides the super fast DC chargers (80 percent charge in 50 mins) that will be primarily at dealerships.
There will also be extended charging facility at dealerships and also a roadside assistance charging facility in case of emergencies.
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