MG Motor to invest Rs 5,000 crore for growth

Pune: MG Motor, the British marquee brand owned by the Chinese car giant SAIC, on Wednesday announced its India 5-year business road map, including investing over Rs 5,000 crore for the expansion of manufacturing plants in Halol, Gujarat, and hiring around 20,000 employees and launching 3-4 new electric cars over the next five years.

The maker of MG Hector and Comet popular models is also looking for investors from India as part of its 5-year business roadmap till 2028 to Indianise the business operations for sustainable growth.

The key initiatives of the plan are localisation and bringing in the latest technology and indigenising it as well, increasing Indian shareholding over the next 2-4 years by more than 50 per cent, enhancing local sourcing and manufacturing across its operations by 2028 through extensive series of programmes, including exploring cell manufacturing and clean hydrogen-cell technology through owned or third-party facilities, the company said.

The company also plans to set up a second manufacturing facility in Gujarat, significantly increasing the combined production output from the current 1.20 lakh to 3 lakh vehicles.

The company also intends to launch 4-5 new cars, mostly electric vehicle (EV) models, and achieve 65-75 per cent of its sales from the EV portfolio by 2028.

To support the widespread adoption of EVs, MG Motor India will strengthen local manufacturing of EV components and establish a battery assembly unit in Gujarat.

“As we pave the way for our next phase of sustainable growth, we have outlined a clear roadmap and vision for 2028,” Rajeev Chaba, CEO Emeritus at MG Motor India, said in a statement.

He said the growth strategy is centred around strengthening localisation, aligning more closely with the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Chaba also said the announcement for the first step towards investment and shareholding details will be shared within this year.

He said the company also plans to list MG Motor India on the Indian bourses, once the shareholding patterns are finalized.

MG Motor India sold around 48,000 vehicles last year and it aims to sell 80,000-1,00,000 lakh units this year.