Guided by Mehrotra’s conviction that new energy offers its strongest “right to win,” MG is shaping a strategy unlike any other challenger brand.
10 Dec 2025 | 11706 Views | By Ketan Thakkar
India’s passenger-vehicle market is among the most concentrated in the world. Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Toyota account for nearly 90% of all sales. In this environment, smaller brands rarely find room to differentiate themselves. JSW MG Motor India’s answer is to avoid fighting the legacy battle altogether ...
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India’s passenger-vehicle market is among the most concentrated in the world. Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Toyota account for nearly 90% of all sales. In this environment, smaller brands rarely find room to differentiate themselves. JSW MG Motor India’s answer is to avoid fighting the legacy battle altogether and instead align itself with one of the most significant shifts underway in the industry: the rise of electric and new-energy vehicles.
Managing director and CEO of JSW MG Motor India, Anurag Mehrotra is candid about the uncertainties of the short term. “This industry teaches you that you should never forecast because you will definitely be wrong, either on the plus side or the minus side,” he says.
Yet he remains confident about the market's long-term shape. He points out that India’s PV industry has typically grown at five to six % over a decade and should reach 5.5 to 6 million units by 2030 if structural drivers hold. His conviction is even stronger in the direction of mobility itself. “EVs and hybrids combined should be about 30 % of the industry by 2030,” he says, arguing that economics, policy and consumer adoption are steadily aligning in their favour.
For JSW MG Motor, this emerging new-energy landscape is not just a tailwind but a strategic opening — a chance to carve out space in a market where traditional pathways to scale are already taken.
This is where MG found its breakthrough. Rather than overplaying the technology narrative, the company framed Windsor around a simple and intuitive A–B–C formula that resonated with Indian buyers. The model combined an accessible price, B-segment space, and C-segment features, creating a value package that stood favourably even against comparable petrol automatics. It felt financially sensible without feeling stripped down, delivering lower running costs, sharply reduced maintenance needs, and a feature-rich cabin that exceeded expectations for its price band.
In a market still testing its comfort with EVs, Windsor’s clear and rational value equation gave MG the early traction it needed and reinforced the belief that new energy could be the company’s most credible path to differentiation
MG’s confidence in the new-energy space is rooted in a strategic choice it made when the JSW–SAIC joint venture was formed. Mehrotra says the company used the Roger Martin “where to play, how to win” framework and concluded that its highest success probability lay in new-energy vehicles.
The logic was straightforward: MG had access to scaled, mature EV technology through SAIC, and the JV structure gave it the ability to bring well-developed products to market faster than most challengers. This combination of clarity in “where to play” and capability in “how to win” is what the company sees as its strongest right to win in a market where traditional paths to scale are already dominated by the top five automakers.
Windsor and the Economics of New Energy
MG’s electric SUV, the Windsor, has been central to reshaping the company’s position in India. It helped lift MG’s EV share from single digits to around 30 % in two years, during a period in which EV penetration in the broader market moved from roughly two and a half % to about six %. The shift was helped by falling battery prices, growing consumer confidence, and emerging price parity trends. Windsor has benefited directly from this.
Mehrotra says the value equation has become compelling. “Running costs are significantly lower, battery costs are coming down, and maintenance is almost one-tenth of ICE,” he explains. He adds that in the popular 4.3 metre segment, comparable petrol automatic can now cost more upfront than a Windsor, something that would have been difficult to imagine three years ago.
However, Windsor’s success does not insulate MG from escalating competition. Even as the company sharpens its focus on the new-energy space, the mainstream rivals that command nearly 90 % of India’s PV market are accelerating their own electrification plans. Tata Motors is readying a broader EV family across the ₹12–25 lakh band, Mahindra’s Born Electric range is scaling up, Hyundai and Kia are localising their global EV platforms and Toyota continues to expand its hybrid footprint.
With this competitive push, MG knows the segment will become significantly more crowded and that Windsor alone cannot carry the brand forward.
To sustain its current position in the EV rankings where it has consistently held the number two or number three spot MG will need a deeper portfolio that broadens its addressable market.
An extended Comet derivative, for example, cannot compete with Nexon EV or Curvv EV on size or segment, but it can bring new urban and young-family buyers into the fold, expanding MG’s reach beyond Windsor’s core audience. At the same time, the company will eventually require a midsize, high-volume electric SUV to flank Windsor in the ₹15–30 lakh space where Tata and Mahindra are mapping their most aggressive EV launches. Without such additions, MG risks ceding ground in a segment that is set to scale rapidly over the next three to five years.
A Cadence Every Three to Six Months
This is why MG has committed to a 3–6 month cadence of new product action, with derivatives, refreshes and new nameplates designed to build depth around Windsor rather than rely on a single hero product. Mehrotra believes the company’s ability to bring mature EV technologies quickly to market, coupled with sharper localisation, will be critical as the new-energy battle intensifies.
One of MG’s lesser-discussed strategic shifts is its commitment to maintaining a steady cadence of product activity. The company plans to introduce a new model, variant or technology enhancement every three to six months. This is a deliberate response to a market where more than 40 new or refreshed models were launched this year and where consumer recall increasingly depends on continuous digital visibility.
Mehrotra says access to global platforms and a more agile supply chain will support this rhythm. “We will be able to bring matured products to market much faster,” he says. MG sees cadence as an equaliser in a market dominated by scale. Rather than match the top five on sheer volume, the company seeks to stay present throughout the year through a rolling portfolio strategy
This product rhythm, however, is only one part of MG’s broader new-energy plan. Alongside strengthening its mainstream EV portfolio, the company is also widening its presence at the upper end of the market. MG recognises that as electrification deepens, premium buyers will play a disproportionate role in shaping early adoption curves, technology expectations and brand perception. To stay relevant across these layers, MG needs not just volume-oriented models but also halo products that elevate its brand and signal capability. That thinking has led to the creation of MG Select, its new premium channel.
MG Select and the Emerging Premium EV Market
To broaden its portfolio, MG has launched a premium channel called MG Select, featuring models such as the Cyberster electric roadster and the M9 luxury MPV. Both have drawn encouraging early responses. Mehrotra says demand has been ahead of supply in the initial months, reflecting not only interest in premium EVs but also the constraints of global allocations.
MG Select has been crafted to anchor the brand in the fast-growing ₹50–80 lakh EV segment, where penetration levels are already estimated to be in excess of 10–15 %, far higher than the mass-market averages. This mid-premium band has emerged as one of the sweetest spots for electrification, fuelled by urban, upgrade-oriented buyers who want performance, range and design without entering the ultra-luxury bracket.
The Cyberster and the MG M9 are positioned precisely in this space, offering aspirational buyers a combination of technology and value that is rare in this price band. Early traction reflects that alignment: the Cyberster has crossed 350 units since July with a 4–5 month waiting period, and MG Select’s 14 experience centres have helped the company rise to the number two spot in the luxury EV segment. For MG, Select is not simply a halo initiative; it is a strategic lever to tap into one of the fastest-expanding EV profit pools in the market.
India’s premium-EV space is still developing but has begun to show meaningful scale. Affluent customers are warming up to electric mobility, provided the ownership experience is glitch-free, charging access improves and resale values stabilise. This is a demanding customer set and MG will need consistent availability, well-aligned aftersales support and stronger service visibility if it wants to remain competitive. The company is positioning MG Select in metros and high-EV-affinity cities to maximise early traction.
India’s Growth Story Meets New-Energy Reality
Despite periodic slowdowns, Mehrotra remains confident about India’s long-term mobility outlook. “It is a story of two halves. ICE was flat, but EVs continued growing at a very fast clip,” he says, noting that even amid policy recalibration and pricing shifts, EV penetration crossed the six % mark.
Underlying this transition are several structural factors. The country’s oil import burden has crossed 160 billion dollars annually, prompting policy support for cleaner mobility. State EV frameworks in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka have built competitive regional ecosystems for manufacturing and component sourcing.
At the same time, the cost of small and mid-segment EVs has narrowed sharply due to falling battery prices and higher volumes. These factors combine to create a credible pathway for EVs and hybrids to occupy a much larger share of the market by the end of the decade.
Challenges remain significant. Public charging infrastructure is still sparse, grid readiness varies across states and affordability continues to depend on battery materials whose prices are shaped by global cycles. For a brand that aims to derive most of its future growth from new-energy vehicles, these are operational and strategic risks that require constant management.
The Joint Venture Equation: Technology Meets Local Scale
The JSW–Saic joint venture gives MG access to global EV and software expertise along with domestic manufacturing muscle and supply-chain leverage. This structure is expected to help MG accelerate localisation, deepen vendor partnerships and improve cost competitiveness. Mehrotra calls localisation central to future profitability. “Higher levels of localisation will be key to long-term margins and sustainability,” he says.
The company is evaluating more Indian suppliers for high-voltage components, battery modules and electronics as it prepares to broaden its NEV portfolio. The partnership’s ability to reduce import dependence will be crucial as competition intensifies and pricing pressure rises.
Dealer Network and Market Discipline
MG has taken a measured approach to dealership operations during recent periods of regulatory uncertainty. Instead of pushing large volumes of ICE inventory into the network, the company chose to hold back wholesales until clarity emerged on tax changes. It also engaged advisors to help dealers navigate compliance and financial implications. “Dealer profitability and viability are very important. It is important that we stay in this together,” Mehrotra says.
While this has strengthened dealer confidence, the long-term relationship will depend on MG’s ability to maintain consistent retail traction, ensure timely launches and support premium aftersales experiences for MG elect customers.
Competing in a Space Still Being Defined
JSW MG Motor knows it cannot match the scale of the top five OEMs and is not attempting to replicate their ICE strengths. Its strategy is to compete where the market hierarchy is still forming, and where innovation and cadence matter as much as market share. The company aims for 70 to 80 % of its future sales to come from its new-energy portfolio, a target that reflects both its internal direction and the broader market’s shift toward electrified mobility.
Mehrotra captures the intent succinctly. “The story is not done. We still have enough product coming. The idea is to lead the clean-mobility space.”
Whether JSW MG can convert strategic clarity into sustained competitive strength will depend on execution. But in a market where the rules of the future are still taking shape, the company has chosen a lane where a focused challenger has a meaningful chance to matter.