JSW MG Motor India Ditches Petrol and Diesel: Shifts Focus to Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

JSW MG Motor India, a new partnership between MG Motor and JSW Group, is planning to shift away from traditional petrol and diesel vehicles. Instead, they aim to focus on new energy vehicles (NEVs) like strong hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles (EVs). Parth Jindal, Director of JSW MG Motor India, said that the company wants to avoid internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, unless necessary.

JSW MG Motor recently launched the Windsor EV, a crossover utility vehicle. The company plans to introduce a new vehicle every six months. They are aiming for about 50% of their sales to come from electric vehicles by the end of this year, with EVs currently making up 35% of total sales.

CEO Emeritus Rajeev Chaba said that JSW MG Motor India has six vehicles: three EVs and three traditional ICE vehicles. The company has seen a 52% increase in EV sales in the first seven months of this year. They expect this number to grow even more with the launch of the Windsor in October.

The Windsor EV is priced at ₹9.99 lakh (without the battery). Customers can opt for a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) plan, where they pay ₹3.5 per km for battery usage. This EV is priced lower than other popular electric vehicles like the Tata Nexon EV and Mahindra XUV400, making it more affordable.

JSW MG Motor expects to sell 70,000 units this year. Last year, the company sold around 60,000 vehicles, including models like the Gloster and Astor SUVs. While EVs currently make up about 2% of all passenger vehicle sales in India, this number is expected to rise to 15-20% by 2030.