30% of our sales could come from EVs in FY24: MG Motor India President

The share of electric vehicles (EVs) in MG Motor India's total domestic sales could rise to about 30 per cent in 2023-24, according to its President, Rajeev Chaba. The EVs' share in its total sales stood at 11.6 per cent in 2022-23.

MG Motor India unveiled its compact EV Comet, which has a range of 230 km per charge, last Wednesday. The company will start taking bookings for the Comet from May 15 onwards, Chaba noted.

Comet will be MG Motor's second EV in the Indian market. Its first electric car, ZS EV, a sport utility vehicle, was launched in India in 2020.

"This year, our total sales target is 80,000-100,000 units. Last year, we sold about 48,000. And 30 per cent of our sales could be EVs this year. So, in terms of EV percentage share, we would be the top player in the country," Chaba -- who is also the company's managing director -- told reporters after unveiling Comet.

The domestic sales of MG Motor India -- which is owned by the Chinese company SAIC Motor -- jumped by 21 per cent in 2022-23 to 48,886 units, according to SIAM data. Explaining these statistics, Chaba said the company was not able to handle the semiconductor chip shortage as deftly as some of its peers in the last year, but the situation has significantly improved this year.

In 2022-23, the company sold about 472 ZS EVs per month in India, as per SIAM data.

Chaba said that currently, the company is selling 600-700 ZS EVs per month, and this number will go up to 1,300 per month by the end of 2023.

The company is expecting to produce 2,000-2,500 Comets per month in the beginning, and then in the next few months, the production will be ramped up to approximately 3,000 units per month, he noted. "I hope we can do it (3,000 units per month) in a few months from now," he mentioned.

The localisation level for Comet EV is going to be more than 50 per cent as its battery would be procured locally from Tata AutoComp Systems (TACO), he noted. "By 2023-end, we expect Comet's localization level to reach about 60 per cent," Chaba mentioned. In comparison, the localization level in ZS EV is not that high, as its battery is imported.

Chaba said that the company has done a total investment of Rs 700-800 crore just to launch and sell Comet in India. The company will start selling Comets in India from May itself. "In the beginning, it will be sold in select cities," he added.

Comet, which is just 2.97 meters in length and 1.5 meters in width, will have a battery with 17.3 kWh capacity.

"We will be offering various variants. However, we do not plan to have any variant that would have a bigger battery pack. As per our analysis, this 17.3 kWh battery pack is ideal for the consumers that we want to target," Chaba mentioned.

If you are someone who has to travel 30-40 kms per day within the city, then you need to charge this vehicle just once a week, he said.

In India, EVs constitute just 2 per cent of total car sales. He said that the tipping point for EVs will come when they reach a 10 per cent share of the market.

He added that the company is clear about the target consumer for Comet. "If you are someone who wants to drive at 80-90 km per hour, has to go out of town regularly, or needs to carry a substantial load in the car, then this car is not for you," he said.

If someone has to book this car, he or she will have to take a "vibe test" in which a certain number of questions will be asked. If the answers fall outside the parameters, a customer care executive will call the person and inform him or her that Comet might not be the right choice, and he or she should probably consider the ZS EV, Chaba explained.

He said the company has not thought about business-to-business (B2B) sales for Comet, but car leasing companies, who have massive car fleets, may find Comet interesting. 

Comet sales are expected to come from all cities and not just metro cities, he mentioned. "I think we will all be pleasantly surprised. Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities are contributing a lot when it comes to EV sales," he added.

Share of EVs in MG Motor's domestic sales is rising

	Domestic sales of EVs (in units)	Total domestic sales (in units)	Share of EVs in company's total sales
FY22	2,525	40,369	6.25%
FY23	5,669	48,866	11.60%

Source: SIAM