On track to achieve over 25% of total sales from EVs this fiscal: MG Motor

MG Motor India is on track to achieve over 25 per cent of total sales from electric vehicles this fiscal year as it continues to enhance its product portfolio, according to company Deputy Managing Director Gaurav Gupta.

The company has already crossed the 10,000 unit cumulative sales milestone of EVs in the country.

On Wednesday, the automaker introduced a top end variant of its electric SUV ZS EV equipped with level two autonomous driving technology priced at Rs 27.89 lakh for a limited period.

"We had mentioned earlier that in this financial year also we will see upwards of 25 per cent of our portfolio coming in from electric vehicle sales. At this point in time, we would like to hold that metric and work towards it," Gupta told PTI.

He further said, "This will only increase as we go along in terms of new products and also the growth of our current portfolio. We are building up on that journey. Since the Comet is just a recent launch, I think we have started on that journey and it will only grow as we go forward."

In the January-June period of 2023, MG Motor India clocked a 20.62 per cent growth in total sales at 29,040 units as against 24,074 units in the year-ago period. The company had sold a total of 48,063 units in 2022.

In April this year, MG Motor India had launched its latest model Comet at an introductory price of Rs 7.98 lakh (ex-showroom), making it the most affordable electric car in the country. It is the company's second electric vehicle model after the ZS EV, which has a starting price of Rs 23.38 lakh.

On the company's EV journey that started in 2019 with the unveiling of ZS EV followed by actual sales a year later, Gupta said, "We've crossed more than 10,000 unit sales as we speak. Our vehicle price is on the higher side, that is at Rs 23 lakh and Rs 27 lakh. So at that price point, to be able to really hit 10,000 car sales is definitely an accomplishment."

There's a lot more headroom available to grow in the EV sector, he said, adding, "So our job is to always keep on bringing in interesting developments in product, in ecosystem, in customer engagement so that more and more people flock to the electric vehicle portfolio and adopt the EV lifestyle."

As part of the strategy, MG Motor India launched a top end variant of its ZS EV with Autonomous Level-2 (advanced driver-assistance systems - ADAS) that enhances driving experience by providing assistance, control, and comfort in various driving situations.

It is equipped with ADAS 17 features, including traffic jam assist (TJA), forward collision warning (FCW), speed assist system (SAS) alerts, lane functions and adaptive cruise control (ACC).

The new offering has a range of 461 km on a single charge of its 50.3kWh battery with 176PS power.

Gupta said consumers are now buying cars which are more feature loaded, adding "more than 50 per cent of them are eager to pay for safety features such as ADAS in particular. ADAS is definitely getting accepted.