MG Motor eyes breakeven in 2022 | Economic Times

MG Motor, the British automobile brand owned by Shanghai Automotive, aims to break into profits within three years of entering the Indian market. Having differentiated itself on premium connected cars, MG Motor is entering the highly competitive mid-size SUV segment with ‘Astor’ to challenge Hyundai’s Creta and Kia’s Seltos.At a corporate level, MG Motor has already engaged with 150-180 startups, including engineering institutes such as IIT Delhi, and some of the gizmos and features integrated into Astor SUV, too, have been implemented after these engagements.MG Motor has already made a financial commitment or entered into a commercial agreement with 16 startups to deliver a modern car that appeals to the Indian youth. The company has also offered its ZS EV to students of IIT Delhi to study its battery technology.The bookings for MG Astor will be opened by mid-September, with a launch expected in October amid the peak festive season.Rajeev Chaba, managing director of MG Motor, told ET that the company entered India with a new-age tech and innovation at the core as against an old-school automotive company. The active use of technology and artificial intelligence has been the key differentiator for MG Motor which, he said, Indian buyers have appreciated.“From a connected car to an electric vehicle, to an autonomous level vehicle — we are further raising the bar with the use of artificial intelligence and autonomous level 2 technology,” Chaba said. “In a segment that is highly competitive, styling, space, features, and a good price are a given, hence we are again raising the bar with Astor with an eye of getting bigger volumes.”Experts say that though the brand sells as many as 3,000 to 4,000 units a month, and the market share may still be very niche, but the company has been able to break into the bigger mind share of an sports utility vehicle buyer in India.