MG ZS Petrol India-bound, To Rival Kia Seltos and Hyundai Creta

MG Motor made its first move in the Indian market in 2018 with the launch of the MG Hector. The premium SUV has garnered positive feedback from the Indian customers. After the success of the MG Hector, MG Motors keeps expanding their line-up by launching the Hector Plus and eZS. Next month, MG will launch the Fortuner-rivalling Gloster.

In the latest development, Rajeev Chaba, President and Managing Director of MG Motor, revealed that the next project of the car manufacturer will be an affordable vehicle. According to him, this vehicle will be positioned under the MG Hector. Mg Motor will roll out this vehicle in 2021. Currently, the entire line-up of MG Motor consists of only above-10-lakh vehicles.

In the beginning, MG Motor focuses on the premium segment while trying to build up the brand image. In the early stage, it is a sensible choice to focus on the low-volume products as they require a smaller number of employees, dealers and customers. Since MG Motors has managed to take care of these three factors, it is now ready to penetrate into the mass market segment with more affordable vehicles.

In order to launch a mass-market vehicle, the MG Motor will have to develop its network of dealers and improve the after-sales service and enhance the customer experience. MG Motor has set to invest Rs 1,000 crore for the Indian market. A large amount of this investment will be used to increasing the production capability at the Halol-based manufacturing facility with a target to increase the localization level.

No details about the upcoming affordable vehicles are revealed. However, our guess is that MG Motor will launch a crossover that sits below the MG Hector. Given that MG has displayed the ZS petrol at the Auto Expo 2020 and the local testing is reported to take off already, it is likely that the ZS petrol will be MG’s next launch in India.

The ZS petrol might be powered by the same 1.5-litre engine which generates a top power of 141 Bhp and 250 Nm. Transmission options are likely to include a 6 manual transmission and a 6 Dual-clutch transmission automatic. MG Motor has always put a strong focus on the connectivity technology on their vehicles, so it is no surprise that the upcoming mass-market product will follow the same strategy. Currently, the MG Motor has launched the facelift ZS on the UK market. It is likely that the India-spec ZS will take on the similar exterior and interior of the UK-bound version. Once launched, the MG ZS petrol is likely to be priced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. It will take on the likes of Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos.