MG Motor India will drive in an electric vehicle priced between Rs 10-15 lakh by the end of the next fiscal to rev up its play in the country’s electric mobility space, said an official statement. The company, which currently sells electric SUV ZS EV, will launch an electric crossover vehicle based on a global platform but customised for the Indian market as its next new product.
MG Motor India President and Managing Director Rajeev Chaba said, “Our next product after SUV Astor, we have been thinking about an EV and now we have been very encouraged with the absolute clarity from the government side that EV is the way to go.”
Sharing the company’s plans, he added, “We have taken the decision that we are going to introduce an EV by the end of next financial year. On the expected price, it will range from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh and will target the mass segment of personal electric mobility.”
Popular electric SUV Tata Nexon EV is currently priced from Rs 14.24 lakh to Rs 16.85 lakh (ex-showroom pan-India). Launched in January last year, the electric motor has a performance rating of 129PS and 245Nm, features a 30.2kWh lithium-ion battery with a claimed range of 312km, and can be charged from 0-80 percent in 60 minutes.
“It is actually a kind of a crossover and this is going to be based on a global platform, which we are going to develop and this will be an EV for mass market for all the emerging markets including India. We will customise this car for the range and the Indian regulations and customer taste. It will be specially tailored for India. We will start working on it right now,” Chaba further said, adding, “This is the kind of tipping point that we have been talking about that if we are able to do a car between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 15 lakh that can give us good volumes. So hopefully, this would be our volume EV car.”
Chaba also informed that in order to meet the government’s guidelines for the production linked (PLI) scheme for the auto sector, MG Motor India will localise a lot of parts for its next EV. These would include battery assembly, motors and localisation of other parts, he added. MG Motor India’s other offering in electric mobility, the ZS EV, is available in two variants priced at Rs 21 lakh and Rs 24.68 lakh (ex-showroom).
Source: saurenergy.com
