MG unveils ADAPT platform, to launch EV and plug-in hybrid SUV during FY27

JSW MG Motor India says its new multi-powertrain ADAPT platform will underpin future new energy vehicles, with an electric SUV and a plug-in hybrid SUV slated for launch during FY27

JSW MG Motor India on Thursday unveiled ADAPT, India's first multi-powertrain new energy vehicle (NEV) platform, and said it will launch one electric SUV and one plug-in hybrid SUV based on the architecture during FY27.

 

This comes as the company seeks to broaden its new energy vehicle portfolio with multiple propulsion technologies.

 

The strategy comes even as MG's electric vehicle registrations continued to grow but lagged the broader electric passenger vehicle market.

 

The company registered 31,741 electric passenger vehicles during January-June 2026, up 18 per cent from 26,894 units a year earlier, according to Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada) Research.

   

However, the overall electric passenger vehicle market expanded nearly 82 per cent during the period, resulting in MG's market share declining to about 21 per cent from 32.3 per cent a year ago. This came as Tata Motors consolidated its lead and Mahindra gained ground.

 

Explaining the strategy behind the platform, Managing Director (MD) Anurag Mehrotra, JSW MG Motor India, said India would require multiple technologies rather than battery electric vehicles alone to accelerate adoption of new energy vehicles.

 

“The goal that has been set to get to 30 per cent new energy vehicles by 2030 will not be achieved through one technology alone. Multiple technologies will be required simply because there are different consumer cohorts in the country. Some consumers will embrace EVs straight up, while others would want to take one step at a time, and for them, hybrids would make sense,” Mehrotra said.

 

ADAPT supports electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and range-extender electric vehicles (REEVs) on a common modular architecture and will underpin the company's future NEV portfolio.

 

The company has confirmed one EV and one PHEV launch this financial year, both of which will be SUVs, although it has not disclosed the segments.

 

The products will be based on global MG platforms but will be significantly tuned for Indian driving conditions. “The products are global products, but they will be significantly tuned to Indian driving conditions,” Mehrotra said.

 

To support its future product pipeline, the company plans to invest ₹3,000-4,000 crore over the next few years, including around ₹1,400 crore during FY27, with spending focused on localisation, new products and manufacturing expansion.

 

“The capital expenditure (capex) will be spent on three things. Number one is localisation. Second new products. Third is plant expansion,” Mehrotra said.

 

The first phase of expansion at the company’s Halol plant will be completed by March 2027, increasing annual production capacity from 120,000 units to 160,000 units.

 

Work on the second phase will begin thereafter, taking installed capacity to 300,000 units annually.

 

The company is targeting 70 per cent localisation for vehicles based on the ADAPT platform.

 

“Our target is to get to 70 per cent localisation. The remaining 30 per cent is essentially battery cells and certain proprietary systems, which most other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) also do not localise,” Mehrotra said.

 

Mehrotra added the company chose a flexible architecture instead of developing separate platforms for different powertrains to improve capital efficiency. By supporting four propulsion technologies on a single platform, nearly 80 per cent of the engineering work is already complete. It allows future product development to focus largely on different body styles.

 

“We had the option of doing multiple platforms, but that is not very capital efficient. If you want to have high capital efficiency, more number of powertrains that you can engineer onto a platform makes much more sense. These four technologies now mean almost 80 per cent of the work is done,” Mehrotra said.

 

“Typically, an OEM takes anywhere between four and five years to bring a new platform or product. In our case, given that the platform is fully engineered, our ability to bring a new product could be anywhere between 12 and 24 months,” he said.

 

While ADAPT will become an important pillar of MG's future product strategy, Mehrotra said not every future new energy vehicle would necessarily be based on the platform.

 

“Our approach now is to have fewer platforms and more flexible platforms engineered with multiple powertrains. That allows us to drive higher commonality, improve capital efficiency and ultimately translate that into better pricing and profitable growth,” he said.

 

Asked about reports of a potential investment by KKR, Mehrotra declined to comment.

 

He added the management remained focused on executing the board-approved strategy centred around localisation, accelerating new product development and funding the planned investments.