SAIC Motor of China has drawn up an aggressive plan for India which will see a slew of products being launched over the next few years.
While an SUV will be the first to debut in the first half of 2019, this will be quickly followed by an electric vehicle in the following year. Thereafter, the plan is to have one new product every year from the portfolio of MG Motor India, the local arm of SAIC.
Michael Yang, Executive Director of SAIC, told visiting journalists in Shanghai that the company was “fully committed to the India story.” This will go beyond products to include other components of the automotive supply chain ecosystem such as electrification, ride-sharing, logistics and finance.
India innings
From Yang’s point of view, India was important to SAIC by virtue of the fact that it is rapidly on its way to becoming the third largest automobile market in the world next decade.
MG Motor’s Halol plant in Gujarat has a capacity of 80,000 units annually and this is expected to be fully optimised by 2021-22.
SAIC will then embark upon its second phase of expansion, which will see overall production numbers grow to 200,000 units.
Rajeev Chaba, Managing Director and President of MG Motor India, said the company had the option to dip into a huge portfolio of products for its India innings.
Apart from the MG brand of passenger vehicles, SAIC also has the Maxus brand in its commercial vehicle range. This may well become a part of the Phase-II expansion programme if the company wishes to expand its India basket.
Additionally, there are a host of vehicle platforms that can be used for India from SAIC’s joint ventures in China with the likes of Volkswagen and General Motors. “The strategy is to pick the right platform for India,” said Chaba. MG will be the front-end brand representation for all these offerings as and when they make their way into the country. In ASEAN, SAIC has already kicked off operations in Thailand (with MG) and Indonesia (Maxus) with perhaps more countries to follow.
Retail front
On the India retail side, MG Motor proposes to have around 45 “quality dealer partners” and the first SUV to be launched next year will be sold through 100 touch points. Going forward, the number of dealers will “at best” go up to 65, even while the touch points could increase even five times as much.
According to Chaba, the message to dealers is loud and clear: ‘We will take care of your profitability while customer service is your responsibility.’ The objective is to have a sales and service team that will be among the best in the country. “Our endeavour is to surprise the customer in a positive way,” he added.
Chaba admitted that the going would not be easy in India where Maruti and Hyundai account for 70 per cent of the market.
Further, there will be competition coming in from new entrants like Kia Motors, which will be ready with its own debut SUV in 2019.
Yet, SAIC will be hoping that it can stand out with initiatives like the electric vehicle that could strike a chord with buyers.
The writer was in Shanghai at an invitation from MG Motor India