MG Motor Considering Electric ZS For India; Could Be India’s First E-SUV

The electric MG ZS SUV is expected to have a range of around 300km

Update: The upcoming MG SUV has been christened Hector. Read more about it here.

MG Motor has maintained from the very first day that it’s open to manufacturing “new energy vehicles” in India. The carmaker has also been testing the Roewe ERX5 in India along with the Baojun E100 small car -- both electric cars made under the SAIC Motor Corp. umbrella in China. For the uninitiated, SAIC owns MG Motor.

Now, MG Motor’s president and managing director in India, Rajeev Chaba, has revealed that the company is mulling the launch of an electric version of its ZS SUV in India. The electric ZS, which is referred to as ZSe, is still under development and is expected to be revealed in the UK in 2018. It is touted to draw electric tech from its Roewe electric SUV sibling, the ERX5 SUV.

The Roewe ERX5 is a midsize SUV, roughly the size of the Hyundai Tucson. It is powered by an electric motor that makes a maximum power of 115PS and 255Nm of peak torque. It has a 48.3kWh lithium ion battery that offers a maximum range of 425km. Roewe claims that the ERX5’s battery can be topped up to 80 per cent in 40 minutes.

If MG plans to bring the ZSe to India, expect the range to be somewhere around 300km and pricing to be in the range of Rs 25 lakh - which is very aggressive for a long-range EV and might be achieved with local assembly. The ZSe will also have a plug-in hybrid version in the UK but it’s not clear whether that’s being considered for India. For reference, the MG ZS is a compact SUV that locks horns with cars like the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross and Hyundai Creta.

If launched in India, the ZSe would make for the brand’s halo product and will, probably, become the first fully electric SUV in the country. Upon launch, the company will offer a charging box for home or office with some infra setup in the 2-3 major cities where it will retail its cars in India.

MG Motor is planning to enter the Indian market in the first half of 2019 with an SUV that would rival the Jeep Compass. This first SUV will be powered by conventional petrol and diesel engines and is expected to be priced aggressively.