Launching EV in India, Lining Up More Affordable Products: MG Motor's Rajeev Chaba Chaba talked about an extended honeymoon period for MG Hector, the launch of their first EV and how one needs to start somewhere without waiting for everything to fall into place
By Debroop Roy
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To be a significant player in the Indian electric vehicle (EV) market, companies need to come into the more affordable segment, according to Rajeev Chaba, managing director at MG Motor India.
In an earlier interview with Entrepreneur India, Chaba talked about an extended honeymoon period for MG Hector, the launch of its EV in india and how one needs to start somewhere without waiting for everything to fall into place.
Launching EV in India
The British brand is in the process of launching its first EV in India, following a successful reception for MG Hector.
Hector was India's first Internet-enabled SUV and is priced at INR 12-17 lakh on an ex-showroom basis. Chaba said the EV would be priced in the range of INR 20-25 lakh.
MG is in the process of lining up more products as well.
"To be (a) significant player in the country, you need to come into more affordable price range," Chaba said.
Launch of MG ZS EV
Update: According to recent media reports, MG Motor India is ready to launch its electric SUV MG ZS EV in 2020. While the price of the vehicles is yet to be known, the vehiclle will reportedly be available for sale in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
The MG ZS EV is equipped with a 44.5 kWh battery pack which ensures a range of 300 km on a single charge. The reports also revealed that the lithium-ion unit can be charged up to 80 percent of its full capacity within 40 minutes using a 50 kW DC charger. The vehicle will take seven hours to charge using a standard 7 kW charger.
Buzz Around EV
Chaba believes there is a lot of buzz around the EV ecosystem in India and said the brand had been receiving queries from potential customers about their new offering.
"Some customers who know we are going to come have shown a lot of inquisitiveness," he said.
The company is trying to create more awareness around EVs as that's an important part of more people adopting the new technology, according to Chaba.
"We are also trying to get into a more educational space right now to tell people about the whole car, the battery, myths of EV, lifecycle management, the safety side of battery, the range anxiety, charging infrastructure," he said.
Not Having All the Answers
Even though nobody has all the answers relating to the EV space right, Chaba feels it is important to make a start."Either we wait for the perfect day...or be part of this change and collaborate with the right partners," he said.
