After cements, paints and ports, JSW Group has big plans for the automotive sector. Parth Jindal, MD, JSW Cement and JSW Paints, shares with Swaraj Baggonkar the details of the group’s plans, including the launch of a new electric car at Rs 10 lakh, besides plans to hike equity in JSW MG Motor India.
Will you offer more products in the mass market segment?
We are working on an electric vehicle (EV) which will be smaller than the Windsor. We hope we can bring in that model in the Rs 10-12 lakh price bracket. We will also bring in a larger SUV, which will be offered with three drivetrains – EV, hybrid and ICE (internal combustion engines).
Are you talking to other OEMs for partnerships?
We currently have the venture with MG and are now looking at increasing our holding in it. Discussions are going on. We believe we need to make more investment. SAIC’s focus is on European and Chinese markets, so, they are not looking to make more investments in the Indian market, whereas we want to double down on India.
Can you share more product-related details?
We are working on the JSW-badged cars. We have tied up with a global OEM from China for technology. We cannot disclose its identity, but we are targeting to launch our car in the first half of 2027.
Are you targeting other segments within auto?
We are also working on commercial vehicles where we have tied up for technology and licence with another global OEM. That business should start producing its first product in the first half of next year. We won’t have JSW badging on the CV.
Where will these vehicles be produced?
As of now, we are setting up the factory for commercial vehicles and JSW-badged passenger vehicles at (Chhatrapati) Sambhajinagar. We are also evaluating the battery project very seriously; we are working on securing that technology.
How much investment will this entail?
This will entail an investment of Rs 10,000 crore, which will be done by a promoter entity of JSW.
Is range anxiety among consumers waning away?
With advancement in technology, the range is going up. The range on a 53kWh battery on the Windsor gives it a 400+ km range. On the 38 kWh variant, we get a 330-km range. The 8 km per kwh was the benchmark, but now it has become more efficient. We believe that range anxiety is dissipating. The number of chargers are also going up.
What about localisation?
We are working on improving localisation. When we launched Windsor, we were 27% local and 73% of the car was imported. By the end of this year, we will be about 67% local and by the middle of next year, we want to get to about 85%. Other than the motor, which is rare earth materials and the cell for the battery, everything else will be localised.
JSW MG Motor volumes are primarily EV-driven…
Yes, more than 80% of our volumes are now electric. We believe that we are at the cusp of becoming the number one player in the EV space. I won’t be surprised if we become number 1 this month or next month.
Have you hit the sweet spot with the pricing of the Windsor?
In order to grow and become mass-market, we truly believe that the sweet spot has to be around Rs 10-15 lakh. Windsor is slightly above that in the range of Rs 13-18 lakh. We are banking on Windsor for a further scale-up in volumes. Windsor has shown us that if we get the right product at the right price, it will do well.