MG Motor India could be planning to launch a new sub-4-metre compact SUV in the Indian market. MG will position the compact SUV below the MG Astor. The MG Astor is likely to be the MG ZS petrol and debut in September this year. However, the MG Astor/ZS Petrol will rival the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. The new sub-4-metre compact SUV will compete with the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet and Tata Nexon.
New MG Sub-4-metre compact SUV – Rumours?
According to sources, the new compact SUV will be built grounds-up and not re-engineered from the SAIC portfolio. Earlier, market speculations were that MG would re-engineer the Baojun 510 SUV, the smallest SUV in the SAIC line-up. The 4.2-metre SUV was also spotted testing on Indian roads in full camouflage.
This leads to further speculation that a chopped off version will come to India in the compact SUV segment. On the contrary, sources report that the brand will not use the Baojun 510 but build a new design from scratch. This means that the compact SUV will be an India-specific design. Looking at the MG’s customer-centric approach, the brand is likely to integrate many India-specific features.
MG MPV and Hatchback
MG will develop the new platform for the compact SUV, which is also likely to spawn an MG MPV and an MG Hatchback. This will enable the brand to compete on the MPV front as well. Also, a new hatchback will open doors to a broader range of customers in the Indian market. Sharing the platform with three vehicles will also allow the brand to balance the economies of scale and price the cars competitively.
MG Production Capacity
According to sources, MG already plans to increase the production capacity from 80,000 units per annum to 100,000 units per annum. The added capacity will help the brand accommodate the MG Astor. Also, the brand plans to open up a second plant in the next one to two years. The brand will either open the new plant independently or through a collaboration; only time will tell. But the new compact SUV and its MPV and Hatchback version will come for the second MG plant. This leads us to believe that the Nexon rival will come not before 2023.
Also Read: MG Astor SUV will get a panoramic sunroof, Hyundai Creta rival
