JSW says the MG Motor Joint Venture aims to sell 1 million EVs in India by 2030.

A joint venture between Indian conglomerate JSW Group and MG Motor expects to sell 1 million electric vehicles in India by 2030 and capture a third of the market, a JSW executive said.

The two companies said the joint venture plans to move into the premium passenger vehicle segment as they launched their new model, a sports car called the Cyberster EV.

Rajiv Chaba, managing director of MG Motor India, said at a media event for the launch that the two firms will inject a total of Rs. 50 billion ($602 million) in the joint venture.

Meanwhile, Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Group, said he hoped the joint venture would transform India’s EV sector in a similar way to how Maruti Suzuki disrupted the car market 40 years ago with “very efficient, very light cars”.

India’s landscape changed last week when New Delhi cut import taxes on some electric cars for automakers that commit to invest at least $500 million (roughly Rs 4,160 crore) and start local production within three years.

The policy change is a big win for Tesla, while analysts said the impact on sales for Indian players could be largely limited to makers of higher-priced vehicles.

Electric vehicles account for about 2 percent of total car sales in India in 2023, with the government targeting 30 percent by 2030.

MG Motor, which is owned by China’s SAIC Motor, has two electric models in India: the small Comet EV and the ZS EV, which is an SUV.

The partnership with JSW will help increase MG Motor’s annual production capacity from 100,000 to 300,000 units, the companies said in a statement, without giving a target date for this.

SAIC Motor and JSW announced the formation of a joint venture in December last year, with the Indian group holding a 35 percent stake.

India’s competition regulator approved JSW’s proposal to acquire a 38 percent stake in MG Motor India in January.

JSW companies include India’s largest steel producer by capacity JSW Steel, among others in various sectors.

© Thomson Reuters 2024