[ajmat]

Prior to the dealer meet, MG Motors held a press conference. I managed to spent some time with Rajiv Chaba, CEO and Pallavi Singh Head of Marketing

On the MG Motors brand – Trying to connect with people and build on the MG Brand. Estimated that there are around 500 MG’s of various vintage in India. Have 210000 Facebook connects. MG are working closely to mentor various start-ups. The nature and the relevance of the startup was not clear.

However, while many over 50’s folks might connect with MG as a brand, it will be an upward effort to get new people to the brand. Will touch on that topic further on. Just to set the content, in terms of heritage, MG Motors only really has the badge and nothing else. The original factory in Abingdon no longer exists (BMW use the area to make Mini’s). Only a design centre in Longbridge near Birmingham exists. The notorious Phoenix 4 (4 businessmen who fought off private equity houses, promising jobs and expansion) bought MG Rover from BMW for 1 pound and, asset stripped the company. As part of the exercise, they sold the MG Brand rights to Nanjing Automotive who were later taken over by SAIC. (to complicate things, Nanjing Automotive got the brand rights but SAIC, at that time, got the technical/design rights for the actual car that formed the MG ZS). To simplify things, SAIC bought Nanjing automotive,


Let’s go back to MG in India

On the factory – SAIC have a 7% shareholding in GM India. Hence it was in a position to secure favorable terms to inherit the abandoned Halol plant. SAIC have committed Rs 5000 Crores. Rs 2000 Crs will be spent during the first phase to

1: Refurbish the plant
2: Add a new press shop
3: Develop a new vendor park
4: Buy a corporate headquarters + flagship store in Gurgaon.

Overall - 150 employees are on board which will go up to 1000 by the year end.

[ajmat]

On the Product

Targeting 80% localization, the first product will be an SUV - over 4 metres long. MG do not want to make the mistake of mishandling volumes until it is established.

Is it the ZS? (I mentioned that I saw a ZS covered up for the dealer presentation)-

No, it will be something different was the reply. The ZS’s are for dealers to get a feel about MG’s offerings. My take is that it might be something radically decontented or modified for India but using the ZS' backbone.

Engines

One diesel and one petrol. Diesel will not go away too soon so a presence in the segment is required. Contrary to other reports, the Fiat MJD diesel is under evaluation and not confirmed. SAIC also has its own diesel engine. It looks more like a cost equation needs to be arrived at. A Petrol variant will also be on offer.

However, a subtle message was that they could surprise us with a hybrid or electric variant as SAIC are a leader in electric car technology in China. The Indian government policies are creating a dynamic situation at present.


How will the proposed SUV compete with the onslaught from the impending Hyundai Kona and VW T-Cross and future Maruti offerings?

We will be mapping out all parameters and benchmarking them. SAIC will respond quickly with necessary changes. Either there is no clear strategy or MG are keeping their cards close to their chest.

Dealer Strategy

Aiming for 60-70 partners operating 100 touchpoints. Investing heavily in digital marketing, Dealers need not build Taj Mahals, a 1000 sq. ft space in a mall would be sufficient. To quote – “once a person has read reviews on portals like Team-BHP or similar, once they walk into the showroom, 70% of the decision has been made".

(Note – I did see Bangalore’s notorious VW/Honda dealer, the local Porsche dealer (his car at least) and a couple of Hyundai dealer folks (wearing their uniforms- very subtle!) walking into the dealer session.

Summarising – It isn’t going to be easy

Brand – Unknown, despite ancient heritage, MG has been dormant outside China and has a low recall value in India

Product – This is an unknown – the MG SUV’s neither have a desirable reputation nor do they have an appalling reputation so this needs to be proven. Most journalists claim the chassis’ are good but fit and finish is below average. With Hyundai and VW groups leading the way in this area – MG has its work cut out.

Dealers and Service – MG want to distinguish themselves on this path but employee training and retention is a challenge.

Edit

Ownership Lifecycle -MG Motors are planning to provide a competitive ownership lifecycle cost experience. Under consideration are - Transparent service and parts costs as well as guaranteed resale/buy-back value

[speedmiester]

MG Motors starts testing electric SUV in India

MG Motor begins test-driving EVs in India

Morris Garages (MG) Motor India Pvt. Ltd, the local unit of the iconic British car maker that is now owned by China’s SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd, is testing two electric vehicles (EVs) in the Halol area of Gujarat to determine their range in Indian climatic and driving conditions, a person familiar with the development said.

[ajmat]

I omitted an important point about the proposed ownership experience - added to main body.

MG Motors are planning to provide a competitive ownership lifecycle cost experience. Under consideration are - Transparent service and parts costs as well as guaranteed resale/buy-back value

[AMG Power]

MG Motors India releases an ad on its India heritage:

http://youtu.be/rKIwAortEww

[VeluM]

Looks like MG is conducting a PR exercise with some celebrities, called "Road to MG Live 2018". A sample pic from Instagram below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjfa0-8hKoi/

It is the ZS in this pic and trip, so could they now be going the Jeep way of launching an expensive vehicle to build their image first?

Also the ZS looks huge in this pic! Quite a good looking car too.

[FIAT3031]

First spyshot of MG based SUV model (Boujun 530) source: Autocar
Seems like a TOP-DOWN strategy being adopted by MG Motors.

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...a-bound-408753

From the images, it's confirmed 7 seater SUV for the Indian Market
With length 4,655mm this ones bigger than the Hyundai Tucson & Jeep Compass.

With pricing being a concern, I feel that this 7 seater SUV can target INNOVA as well, however the latter is known for its reliability

[S.MJet]

MG Motor India appoints Rakesh Sidana as National Sales Head.

Prior to this he was with Honda Cars India for more than 10 years as operating head marketing.

Source

[avishar]

Instead of the MG ZS, they should get the Roewe RX3. It is based on the same underpinnings. Slot it in in-between the Brezza and Creta. Market it with the MG brand ofcourse. What do guys think? It is a smart-looking crossover.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

MG Motors has been doing a pretty good job at marketing their brand before launch - and the below video is noteworthy as well -

https://youtu.be/V_jFuGW_GIg

[volkman10]

MG RX5 SUV Caught Testing in India, primarily rivaling Hyundai's Creta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbd3odkeN2E

Link

[volkman10]

India-bound MG SUV interior spied.

the test mule was powered by a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine mated to a CVT gearbox. For India, MG is likely to offer Fiat's 2.0-litre Multijet diesel engine though

Link

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Some more brand building exercises -

https://youtu.be/It8Qqylu76o

[volkman10]

MG Motor To Launch Electric SUV In India By 2020 . This will be the second car from MGM for India.

The company has already said that its first car in India is likely to come in the second quarter of 2019 and now it has announced that its second launch in the market will be an electric SUV which will come in just under a year from the launch of its first car.

All our products will be designed and engineered in UK and China with the support of Indian engineers. These vehicles will be heavily localized, built at our plant in Halol by our engineers conforming to global quality standards and validated and customized for India to suit the Indian road and driving conditions

Details of the electric SUV have still not been revealed.


Link

[TusharK]

MG has confirmed that the brand's second product for the Indian market will be an electric SUV, but hasn't provided any specific information about the said model. The electric vehicle (EV) will be launched within one year of its first car launch.



Earlier this year, the Roewe ERX5 electric SUV was spotted testing in India, which suggests that MG might be evaluating it for the Indian market. The ERX5 is a mid-size SUV that is powered by an electric motor that puts out 114 BHP and 225 Nm of torque. It comes equipped with a 48.3 kWh lithium-ion battery which offers a maximum range of 425 km on a single charge.

The brand plans to expand its footprint in India by appointing 45 authorized dealers with around 100 touchpoints across the country in the first phase. The production capacity of the Halol plant might also be expanded from 80,000 to 2,00,000 units per annum. The company has said that its products will be designed and engineered in the UK and China with the support of Indian engineers and will be heavily localized to make them cost-effective.

Link to Team-BHP News