MG To Launch Nexon EV Rival Next Year — Will Cost Between Rs 10-15 Lakh

The new electric SUV from MG Motor is expected to butt heads with the Tata Nexon EV and will be priced between 10 and 15 lakh when it arrives by the end of the next fiscal year.

Speaking to the Press Trust of India news agency, Rajeev Chaba, President and Managing Director at MG Motor India revealed that the EV will be a crossover SUV based on a global platform but modified for India.

Speaking to the Press Trust of India, Rajeev Chaba said, "Our next product after SUV Astor, we have been thinking about an EV and now we have been very encouraged with the absolute clarity from the government side that EV is the way to go. We have taken the decision that we are going to introduce an EV by the end of the next financial year. It is actually a kind of a crossover and this is going to be based on a global platform, which we are going to develop and this will be an EV for the mass market for all the emerging markets including India."

Chaba then went on to elaborate on his company's plans, stating, "We will customise this car for the range and the Indian regulations and customer taste...It will be specially tailored for India. We will start working on it right now. This is the kind of tipping point that we have been talking about that if we are able to do a car between ₹10 lakh and ₹15 lakh that can give us good volumes. So hopefully, this would be our volume EV car."

MG is also looking at increasing localisation for the new electric vehicle for India. The British carmaker will be looking to localise components including the electric motor and battery assembly to take advantage of the government's incentive scheme.

MG Motor currently sells only one electric vehicle in India in the form of the ZS EV. The MG ZS EV was recently updated for international markets and is expected to arrive in India in the coming months. The MG ZS EV rivals the Hyundai Kona in the Indian market and is currently priced between Rs 21 lakh and 24.21 lakh (ex-showroom, India).

The current MG ZS EV is powered by a 3-phase electric motor that produces 141bhp and 353Nm of peak torque which is sent to the front wheels via a single-speed automatic gearbox. The current ZS EV with its 44.5kWh battery pack has a range of 261 kilometres as per the WLTP standards. The updated ZS EV is powered by a larger 51kWh battery pack which raises the range to 317km. Higher-spec version of the electric SUV sport an even larger 72kWh battery pack which ups the range to 437 kilometres.

Thoughts On MG's Upcoming 'Mass-Market' EV

MG Motor India is looking to expand its reach in India by introducing a 'mass-market' EV in the Rs 10-15 lakh segment. While details are scarce, the segment targeted by the upcoming EV only has one offering in the form of the Nexon and any new addition will be quite a welcome sight on Indian roads.