JSW MG Motor India is looking to raise fresh capital to expand beyond the 2.2 lakh-unit capacity planned at its Halol plant. Parth Jindal, director, JSW MG Motor India, said the current expansion is funded through a mix of debt and equity, with JSW’s original equity investment sufficient for the present phase.
However, he added that discussions between JSW and Chinese partner SAIC are underway to fund the next stage. “Right now the discussions are on between both the shareholders because we really want to go beyond 220,” Jindal said. “If you ask for more, 2,20,000 units a year is not enough for MG.”
JSW MG is currently in the process of investing ₹3,500 crore in its operations, while vendors are putting in another ₹2,500 crore, taking the overall investment linked to the expansion to around ₹6,000 crore. The investment will support capacity expansion and localisation. The Halol plant’s current capacity of 110,000 units will rise to 160,000 units by March and 220,000 units by January 2028. Jindal said the existing plant can eventually be expanded to around 400,000 units, according to Jindal.
“As of now, at least for the next 3-4 years, we don’t see the need for a new location,” he added. The company will reconsider a new plant once production crosses 250,000 units.
Strategic Investment
“Currently JSW owns 35% and SAIC holds 49%. And the rest are held by Indian institutional investors, our employees and our dealers,” Jindal said. SAIC sees India as its next growth engine as auto-sector growth in Europe and China slows. The Chinese automaker also views its partnership with JSW MG as a competitive advantage because of JSW’s local market knowledge and localisation efforts.
The success of the Windsor, Jindal said, has given both shareholders greater confidence to invest further in India. While recent FDI relaxation opens up more avenues, discussions on the next round of funding are still underway.“It has taken longer than either they hoped or we hoped,” he said.
“With the way the market has received us, we are very excited and we want to scale to 400,000 and then get to a million cars. And for that, we will need capital,” he said.
The capacity push comes as MG says demand is outpacing its ability to supply vehicles. Halol is already operating three shifts, while headcount has risen 50% in six months.
Driving Localisation
MG is targeting 70% localisation for the Windsor and Hector Tomahawk by the end of calendar 2027. Cells, rare-earth magnets and some electronics remain difficult to localise. The company is adding 2-3 percentage points of localisation every month to improve profitability and reduce dependence on imports.
MG’s plans to manufacture battery cells in India remain on hold as it has yet to secure LFP technology. Its cell-to-pack facilities have been commissioned, but the required LFP cell technology remains concentrated in China.
