JSW MG Motor India will invest Rs 1,400 crore this year to step up localisation, launch new products and expand manufacturing capacity, with a broader investment plan of around Rs 4,000 crore over the next phase of growth as it prepares a wider portfolio of new energy vehicles (NEV).
In an interaction with Fe, Anurag Mehrotra, managing director, JSW MG Motor India, said the immediate investment will be deployed across three priorities. “The first priority is localisation because that is the biggest unlock for our profitability. The second is new products, and the third is plant expansion,” he said.
The first phase of expansion at the company’s Halol plant will be completed by March 2027, increasing annual production capacity from 120,000 units to 160,000 units. This will be followed by another phase that will take installed capacity to around 300,000 units a year.
The company on Thursday also unveiled its ADAPT (Advanced Drive Architecture Platform Technology) platform, which will underpin future battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV), strong hybrids and range-extender models. Mehrotra said the first model based on the platform will be a BEV, followed by a PHEV, with both slated for launch this financial year. He added that the required capital expenditure has already been approved. Localisation of the Windsor EV has already tripled and will rise to 70% by the end of calendar year 2027, while all subsequent models on the ADAPT platform will be launched with 70% localisation.
Mehrotra said the EV market is constrained more by limited product choices than by demand. Drawing a parallel with the SUV segment, which expanded rapidly as manufacturers introduced products across price points, he said EV adoption would similarly accelerate as more models enter the market. On MG’s recent loss of leadership in EV sales to Mahindra, he said the company was focused on growing the overall NEV market rather than competing with individual players, adding that the segment still accounts for only about 8% of passenger vehicle sales.
On charging infrastructure, Mehrotra said India now has around 30,000 public charging points for nearly 500,000 EVs, but improving charger reliability is as important as expanding the network. Rather than stricter regulation, he said market forces would reward operators offering dependable service. He also described plug-in hybrids as an important bridge technology, particularly for diesel customers seeking long-range efficiency, adding that multiple technologies would be needed to achieve the government’s 30% EV penetration target by 2030 and that policy support would be required.
The company also plans to expand its sales and service network from about 550 outlets to more than 1,200 over the next five years, with smaller cities expected to drive the next phase of NEV adoption.