JSW Group, MG Motor announce JV, set goal to sell 10 lakh electric vehicles by 2030

The Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW Group and MG Motor, the vehicle-maker backed by China’s SAIC Motor, on March 20 announced the formation of a joint venture (JV) to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in India.

The JV, named JSW MG Motor India, plans to secure a third of the market share by 2030, a senior JSW executive told news agency Reuters. The goal is to sell 10 lakh EVs by that year, the executive reportedly added.

The formation of the JV was preceded by JSW Group’s acquisition of 35% stake in MG Motor from SAIC.

During the press event to release the JV’s vision, JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal said their aim is to launch one new designed car at “every 3-4 months”. The idea is to create a “Maruti moment”, he said.

Jindal was referring to the strategy enacted by Maruti Suzuki in the 90s, when the company introduced an array of new vehicles in the passenger cars segment, that allowed it to grab a market share of around 50%. The JV will replicate that strategy in the new energy vehicle (NEV) segment, he stated.

While the joint venture’s name was announced today, the agreement was inked in August 2023, after JSW Group acquired a 35% stake in MG Motor India. The acquisition received the regulatory nod in January this year.

At present, MG Motor manufactures two EV variants in India - Comet EV and ZS EV. The latter is a sports utility vehicle (SUV). The JV plans to scale up the production to 100,000 to 300,000 units per annum. An investment of ₹5,000 crore will be made to boost the production capacity, news agency PTI quoted MG Motor India Chairman Emeritus Rajeev Chaba as saying. "We have announced today that we are going to have our second plant in Gujarat near our existing unit at Halol itself," he added.

In 2023, the share of EVs in India’s total car sales stood at 2%. The government has set a target to expand it to 30% by 2030.