 "Chip supply mostly sorted, only a few variants face crunch: MG Motor India")
The semiconductor chip supply to MG Motor India has more or less been sorted out by now and their shortage is being felt for certain variants only, Gaurav Gupta, Deputy Managing Director, MG Motor India said on Wednesday.
The domestic sales of MG Motor India -- which is owned by the Chinese company SAIC Motor -- jumped by 21 per cent in 2022-23 to 48,886 units, according to SIAM data. The company was not able to handle the semiconductor chip shortage as deftly as some of its peers in the last year, but the situation has significantly improved this year, MG Motor India's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Emeritus Rajeev Chaba had explained in April.
In FY24, the company plans to sell 80,000-100,000 units. "We are gunning in that direction. We are on course. We are on track (to meet that target)," Gupta told Business Standard in an interview. In the first quarter of FY24, the company's domestic sales jumped by 40 per cent to 14,682 units.
"The chip situation has more or less been sorted out. But there are certain challenges based on certain variants that require particular chips. We are in a much better situation than we were in 2020, 2021 and even part of 2022," Gupta noted.
MG Motor India launched India's most affordable electric car Comet, which has a range of 230 km per charge, in May at a starting price of Rs 7.98 lakh. When asked how many bookings has the company received for Comet till date, he replied, "We did have a production issue last month because of cyclone Biparjoy and it impacted our supplies and production capability as well. Now we are getting our supply situation sorted out. I think it will be good to look at it (booking numbers for Comet) at the end of second quarter (September-end)."
"The way different age groups have taken to Comet is very encouraging. Families are buying it for their children to go to university. First time jobbers are looking at it. It is the second car in the family," he mentioned.
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Gupta talked about a major behavioural shift that the company has been observing in families that have EVs as secondary cars. "We are at the turning point where EVs will start to become primary vehicles of use for families," he stated.
He clarified that EVs are still primarily being purchased by most buyers as their second or third vehicle in the family. "It is still the secondary car in the family. But I see, as people are talking to us, the EV itself is being used more and more. So, the usage is turning towards primary. That is the big change," he noted.
About 95 per cent of the customers in India are using the home charging for their EVs, according to MG Motor's studies. "With increased infrastructure of chargers on the highways now, people are also taking intercity travel. Yes, the perception is that the chargers are not there. But if you see, more than 6,000 chargers are coming up across the country on various highways," Gupta noted.
"Batteries have got good durability. Batteries have got good range. ZS EV has 50.3 kW battery which is the largest in its segment. It can go up to 461 km on a single charge. You actually can do long distances in a single charge as well," he explained.
SAIC Motor-owned MG Motor India had in May announced that it plans to sell a majority stake to Indian investors to raise more than Rs 5,000 crore in two-four years.
These funds would be used to build a second plant in Halol, Gujarat. This new unit will boost its annual capacity to about 300,000 units by 2028.
The second facility is projected to have an annual capacity of 180,000 units, while the current Halol plant has a capacity of 120,000 units per year.