JSW MG to move away from conventional vehicles, focus on NEVs: MD Jindal

Company, which on Wednesday launched its electric crossover utility vehicle 'MG Windsor' -- the first launch after it invested in MG Motor India has set a target to introduce a new car every 4-6 month

JSW MG Motor India intends to move away from conventional internal combustion engine vehicles as it focuses on new energy vehicles for the future, company Director Parth Jindal said on Wednesday.

The company, which on Wednesday launched its electric crossover utility vehicle 'MG Windsor' -- the first launch after JSW Group invested in MG Motor India -- has set a target to introduce a new car every four to six months and is eyeing over 50 per cent of its total sales to come from electric vehicles in 2024.

"We want to bank on the new energy vehicles (NEVs). So, whether that is strong hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or battery electric vehicles, these will be the cornerstone of MG going forward," Jindal said in an interaction with reporters on the sidelines of the launch.

He further said, "The traditional ICE (internal combustion engine), as we call it, without even a mild hybrid option, is something that we want to do away with. We are not very keen on bringing that into the country."

However, Jindal said, "For certain models, if the technology has not developed, we may take those calls. It is not that MG will never bring it (ICE), but as much as we can avoid it, we would like to avoid (it)."

On the prospect of EVs, JSW MG Motor India CEO Emeritus, Rajeev Chaba said at present, EVs account for 35 per cent of the company's total sales.

"We have five cars right now and Windsor is the sixth -- a total of three EVs and three ICE vehicles. In the first seven months of this year, our EV sales volumes have grown 52 per cent," Chaba said.

He further said, "With Windsor coming in, EV should be more than 50 per cent of our sales."

JSW MG Motor India has not announced the ex-showroom price of the Windsor but it is offering it at a vehicle price of Rs 9.99 lakh plus Rs 3.5/km for battery. The company has introduced an ownership plan through a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering and claimed that owning the Windsor, a full-size capable electric CUV, will be at the price equivalent of a manual engine-based compact SUV.

The Windsor is powered by a 38 kWh Li-ion battery pack and has a range of 331 kms under standard conditions on a single charge. It can be charged in 40 minutes at any DC fast charger.

On the localisation level of Windsor, Chaba said, "It starts at a lower level, but in the next 12 to 18 months, we intend to make it to around 80 per cent".

Bookings of Windsor will start on October 3 and deliveries from October 12 onwards, the company said.

Last year in November, China's largest automaker SAIC Motor inked a joint venture (JV) agreement with the JSW Group to accelerate the transformation and growth of MG Motor in India. Under the new structure, JSW picked up a 35 per cent stake in the JV, Indian Financial Institutions (IFI) 8 per cent, dealers of MG Motor 3 per cent and 5 per cent earmarked for employees of the company. The remaining 49 per cent is with SAIC.

The JC has set an ambitious target to sell one million units of passenger electric vehicles in India by 2030 when the total market is expected to be 10 million units annually.