MG Motor India to start sales with SUV that rivals Hyundai Creta

MG Motor, the British car brand owned by SAIC Motor and the largest carmaker in China, is all set start India sales. In September last, the company opened a plant in Gujarat with an initial investment of Rs 2,000 crore. Now, it has now announced to take the total investment to Rs 5,000 crore in the next 3-4 years.

MG Motor India has confirmed that it will launch a premium SUV to start off the sales in the country scheduled for the second half of 2019. The company then will adopt the strategy of launching a model every year till 2021.

MG Motor India has also confirmed that its vehicles will come with a high level of localization by going over 80 percent in line with Make in India policy. The Halol plant which MG Motor India acquired from General Motors India will have a capacity of 80,000 to 1 lakh units a year.

MG Motor is planning to set up around 300 customer touch points going forward. As part of the plan, the company will be conducting dealer roadshows in India starting with Mumbai on March 28 followed by Delhi and Bengaluru.

On the MG Motor India's first SUV, president and managing director of the company, Rajeev Chaba commented, "This is one of the fastest growing segments. The SUV will be a premium, new-age product."

Since the SUV in question is a premium model, reports suggest it will be the MG ZS SUV that was launched in the Chinese market in March 2017. In that case, the MG ZS will go up against the Hyundai Creta and Renault Duster in India.

MG Motor claims the MG ZS is targeting young buyers and the SUV features latest design language characterized as Emotional Dynamism. The Z in the name symbolizes Generation Z, its target audience.

The 8-inch high-definition display screen, a 1.19 square meters panorama glass sunroof, long wheelbase and roomy interior are the forte of the MG ZS. Though the SUV is offered only with petrol engines in China, India-spec model will have a diesel engine option.