[Omkar]

In December last year, SAIC Motor, the parent company of MG Motor India, announced that they would enter into a joint venture with the JSW Group. The automobile JV has now been finalised and will be called JSW MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd.

Under this joint venture, the company plans to create an EV ecosystem with forward and backward integration of the supply chain with a focus on localisation. It will also expand the annual production capacity of its manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat from the current 1,00,000 vehicles to 3,00,000 vehicles. The joint venture also plans to launch a new product every three to six months beginning this festive season. As of now, there are 2 new products slated for launch this year. It also plans to have a premium passenger vehicle channel. With the announcement of this joint venture, MG also showcased the Cyberster, a two-seat performance electric sports car.

The event had a couple of classic cars from MG on display. Here’s the MG Midget - a small two-seater lightweight sports car:


Also on display was MG TD:


The entrance lobby had an infographic mapping out 100 years of the MG brand:


MG 1.0 has completed 5 years and the JV marks the beginning of MG 2.0:


The joint venture company has been named JSW MG Motor India Private Limited. Here’s the Cyberster EV being presented by (From L-R) Mr. Sajjan Jindal, Managing director of JSW Steel, Mr. Parth Jindal, Member of the steering committee of JSW MG Motor India and Mr. Rajeev Chaba, CEO Emeritus of MG Motor India:


The Cyberster (strange name) EV had made its global debut at Auto Shanghai 2023:


Scissor doors are a distinctive feature of the Cyberster:


Front features Porsche Cayenne-like headlights and a big MG badge on the nose. Since this is an EV, there’s not much of a radiator grille and most of it is closed off for better aerodynamics. Lower portion of the bumper has a splitter-like design:


In a typical sportscar fashion, you get a long bonnet with prominent creases in the centre:


20-inch front wheels are shod with 245/40 section Pirelli P-Zero tyres. The rear wheels are also 20-inch units but get wider 275/35 section tyres:


Struts for the scissor doors:


"100th Anniversary" badge on the running board:


Funky-looking rear end with arrow-shaped turn-indicators. You also have a connected tail-lamp setup here and a lip spoiler on the boot lid:


Big MG badge at the rear:


Placement of the request sensor for the boot and reversing camera feels a bit odd. They could’ve been better concealed:


Diffuser-like design at the bottom with red accents:


A look at the dashboard. I'm not a big fan of this peach tan-like shade of the interiors:


Driver gets a proper cockpit-like feeling with all the controls and the instrument cluster and infotainment screens surrounding him. Flat-bottom steering looks good. Strangely, it looks rather difficult for the passenger to operate the infotainment and A/C controls given their angle:


Racing bucket seats look like they offer plenty of support:


Button for operating the roof sits in between the driver and the passenger. There are also a couple of storage spaces below. Notice the hoops behind the headrests for rollover protection:


Some stats of the Cyberster – 528 BHP from a dual-motor AWD setup with a 0-100 km/h time of 3.2 seconds. The battery capacity is 77 kWh and the CLTC (China light-duty vehicle test cycle ) range is 579 km. There’s also a 304 BHP, single motor RWD setup that’s good for 0-100 km/h time of 5.2 seconds. It gets a smaller battery pack of 64 kWh and has a CLTC range of 520 km:


Suffice to say that the Cyberster attracted a lot of attention at the event:


Also on display was the MG4 EV that we saw at the Auto Expo 2023 (related report here):


Interesting detailing on the front splitter:


Sharp design for the headlights. Notice how the creases on the bonnet extend onto the bumper seamlessly:


17-inch wheels have an aerodynamic design which we see on most EVs. They’re shod with 215/50 section tyres:


At the rear, there's a tiny roof scoop-like design at the top. There’s also a diffuser at the bottom:


Nice detailing on the tail-lights:


Quite a prominent lip spoiler, almost like a ducktail design:


Interiors seem very basic and functional. Flat-bottom, 2-spoke steering wheel design looks nice:


Centre console is rather minimalistic with a touchscreen infotainment head-unit at the top and a rotary gear mode selector and electric parking brake below:


Legroom seemed sufficient at first glance:


Next on display was the MG5 electric station wagon that was also showcased at the Auto Expo 2023 (related report here):


The MG5 Electric is technically the world’s first all-electric station wagon. In person, it is quite a big car and is over 4.6 meters in length - almost as long as a Tata Harrier:


Nice tail-lamp design - very Audi like IMO:


17-inch alloy wheels have a simple design instead of an aero-wheel design. This looks much better:


The final car on display at the event was this convertible MG Comet concept:

[Nonstop-driver]

Wow, the 50-60 lakh segment is getting crowded, who would have thought that? There's already a buzz about BYD Seal offering unparalleled performance at that price point and MG Cyberster is only going to add competition to that.. Fun times ahead!

[Totoro11]

Good to see more cash being poured into the indian auto sector.

As an aside, what's with the weird name 'Cyberster'... very unimaginative and doesn't easily roll off the tongue (maybe someone got too inspired by Tesla Cyber truck & Roadster)

[amitverma]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but if this thing comes to india for 50-60 on-road, I'd be tempted to break my vow of staying ICE. I've always wanted a proper, low 2 seater sportscar/convertible. Really really excited about this, because I dont think we'll ever see any good sportscar in that price bracket.
Mercedes did launch the stunning SL43 coupe yesterday but thats not going to come soon or south of 1.5 crores. So, listen MG, if you play this right, you're going to be an icon in India.

[Venkatesh]

Press Release

[utkarshgoel]

So MG India is finally Indian. The news says that JSW has picked up 51% stake in joint venture. This will push more people to buy MG who avoided it due to Chinese tag.

https://www.ndtvprofit.com/business/...majority-stake

[Thilak29]

This is an extremely good step, I really hope more to follow.

An Indian partner will help boost local OEM supplier economy, create jobs and customer wins with better products out of competition and effectively lower pricing.

[GTO]

Whoa, that's a great showing and a colourful press conference, compared to the usual boring ones we see. PR is something MG has always been good at. But there are also other things they have competence in.

BYD is getting all the buzz in recent times & not without reason = they are the emperor of EVs. But let's not overlook the size & might of SAIC (the state-owned company behind MG). It sold 50-lakh cars last year and is the top Chinese car manufacturer that has enjoyed JVs with giants like GM & VW.

MG India's product portfolio has gotten rather stale, thanks in no small part to the Indian govt's block on Chinese investments. I hope JSW's entry improves matters for MG. My only two concerns = JSW has 51% in the JV, but no automotive experience. And how much money will JSW continue to invest in this extremely capital-intensive business. I wonder if JSW's ambitions will match SAIC's.

A great announcement, regardless and a step forward for MG India. The government has also blocked BYD's $1 billion investment last year, so I wonder if BYD will be looking for a powerful big-name local partner (not Megha Engineering).

[sprashanth1982]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Press Release

Attachment 2585028

From this Press Release, it looks like MG Motors is planning to bring New-Energy Vehicles to India in the upcoming months & as per my understanding, New-Energy Vehicles (as per the Chinese Industry terminology) refers to not only Fully Electric Vehicles (BEVs), but also Plugin Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs).

I think introducing PHEVs in India is not a good idea - they are too complex for the average car buyers (they need to charge daily + fill petrol regularly + add additive to protect the Engine from relatively lower running) & maintenance will be very expensive and complicated. Instead of PHEVs, they should simply bring over Strong Hybrids (HEVs) like the Toyota Hycross or Suzuki Grand Vitara which are less complex for the car buyers & cheaper to maintain.

Therefore, I think MG should re-think their strategy of bringing BEV + PHEV to our market & instead make it as BEV + HEV.

Note: Found the link/article where MG India have specifically said they are interested in bringing PHEVs to India in the coming months:

JSW MG Motor to introduce its first PHEV in India next year

[inner_roadster]

“My dream with MG is to create a Maruti moment” ; Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of the JSW Group, stated this when launching a partnership with a Chinese company owned by SAIC. I really hope so; it may spark a similar movement again.

Also I think both parties benefit from the joint venture. In addition to giving MG an Indian identity, the partnership is expected to boost revenues and market share for the partner company as well as benefit the Indian economy. This agreement will encourage MG Motor to spend significantly in India, thereby employing thousands of people, cooperating with Indian suppliers, and providing Indian customers with more options.

[Urorobo]

Originally Posted by GTO

BYD is getting all the buzz in recent times & not without reason = they are the emperor of EVs. But let's not overlook the size & might of SAIC (the state-owned company behind MG). It sold 50-lakh cars last year and is the top Chinese car manufacturer that has enjoyed JVs with giants like GM & VW.


A great announcement, regardless and a step forward for MG India. The government has also blocked BYD's $1 billion investment last year, so I wonder if BYD will be looking for a powerful big-name local partner (not Megha Engineering).

Like the Pun @GTO

A turbo petrol roadster with 150- 200 HP should be good enough with minimum bells n whistles

Keep it at around < 20 Lacs for ICE and you have plenty of takers

Mahindra , Tata , Suzuki are you listening ?

If they can Launch a Thar at 9.99 lacs with 120 HP and a Harrier/ XUV/ Scorpio base model at around 15

This is certainly feasible

Make a simple machine which is reliable with minimum sensors

Just focus on the design and make a timeless design with Round Headlights and rounded panels 😃😃😃

7 inch sealed beams with halogen will do just that it is comfortable for everyday drive and doesn’t scrape the ground.

We don’t need a drifter nor 500 hp brick

Just a two door roadster , coupe , cabrio for everyday driving

[Reinhard]

The car looks much better than the otherwise rather ugly name! I liked its proportions and inoffensive looks. Aerodynamicists should verify the diffuser design once though .

What really took my goat was the presence of Rs.5 worth "Happy Motoring" protective papers in the footwells . Its like the car just came back from a regular road-side service center of some mass market car maker! Amusing that none of the head honchos in presence thought this was out of place considering the magnitude of the event and should be removed.

[Cresterk]

The 40-60L segment was oddly empty since 2021. Looks like the Chinese are going to cash in on the empty price segment carelessly left behind by the Germans.

[ads11]

I know estates are a dud category in India but the MG5 I think was the best selling EV in the UK. See a bunch of them, and to a slightly lesser extent the MG4 on British roads.

[neon115]

Originally Posted by sprashanth1982

From this Press Release, it looks like MG Motors is planning to bring New-Energy Vehicles to India in the upcoming months & as per my understanding, New-Energy Vehicles (as per the Chinese Industry terminology) refers to not only Fully Electric Vehicles (BEVs), but also Plugin Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs).

I think introducing PHEVs in India is not a good idea - they are too complex for the average car buyers (they need to charge daily + fill petrol regularly + add additive to protect the Engine from relatively lower running) & maintenance will be very expensive and complicated. Instead of PHEVs, they should simply bring over Strong Hybrids (HEVs) like the Toyota Hycross or Suzuki Grand Vitara which are less complex for the car buyers & cheaper to maintain.

Therefore, I think MG should re-think their strategy of bringing BEV + PHEV to our market & instead make it as BEV + HEV.

Note: Found the link/article where MG India have specifically said they are interested in bringing PHEVs to India in the coming months:

JSW MG Motor to introduce its first PHEV in India next year

No its not, this kind of fear mongering is totally unfounded.

I have a Kia Niro PHEV, have been using it for past 5 years with zero issues. The service cost is lower than ICE model and the service interval is actually higher than ICE equivalent. There is no additive to be added, the engine turns on every day for a couple of minutes to keep things running.

For a country like India where average trip is less than 45km, a PHEV is the perfect option. Can be charged overnight at home or at office during work hours. Can be taken to longer road trips without range anxiety.