MG Motor India to unveil four SUVs in 18-20 months

Morris Garages Motor India is on course to launch four sports utility platforms/ vehicles within the next 18-20 months.

Undeterred by the ongoing automobile sector slowdown in the country, MG Motor gets set to roll out its second offering, an electric SUV, within a couple of months even as it seeks to expand its manufacturing facility located at Halol in Gujarat and the suppliers’ network.

Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer of MG Motor India, said: “We are aware the country’s automotive sector is passing through tough times with sales dropping during the first nine months this year. We have seen such cycles in the automotive sector and are sure this will pass off and pave way for better times.”

“Founded in the UK in 1924, Morris Garages has been an iconic brand. We have decided to be a long-term player in the automotive sector in the country and expect to consolidate our business and India presence with innovative models,” he said.

Interacting with BusinessLine during his visit to Hyderabad, Gupta said: “Our first offering, Hector has received an overwhelming response of 28,000 bookings and we already have 11,000 people looking forward to book their vehicles. The focus now is on ensuring increase in production and early deliveries.”

“While we have invested about ₹2,000 crore in the manufacturing facility with capacity for 80,000 units per annum, we plan to take this investment up to ₹5,000 crore and increase capacity to 160,000 units per annum,” he said.

“Simultaneously, we are also expanding our dealership, sales and services network from 120 centres to 250 centres which will enable us to have a strong network of sales-cum-services centres needed to serve the growing number of customers,” he explained.

“Our second offering, an electric SUV MG EZS, will be launched by December and by then we expect some more charging stations to come up in the country. Our experience shows that 25 per cent of the charge is done in rapid mode and the rest when it is parked for longer duration. Since this model runs up to 350 km per single charge, it would be good addition to the portfolio,” he said.

Factors for slowdown

Referring to the slowdown in the sector, he said this was due to several factors, including lack of supportive credit and the macro-economic conditions. However, the Government has initiated several steps for course correction such as boosting credit, adding to depreciation, clarifying on BS IV to BS VI transition, among others.

“While our focus will be on four SUV platforms as they currently account for about 22 per cent of the country’s passenger vehicle market, we could consider other segments as we go along,” he said.

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