What SAIC Motor China may have in store for the Indian market

Sources state that MG Motor India, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor of China plans to enter the Indian car market. SAIC Motor also sells their cars with the MG and Roewe badge and it is believed that they’re eyeing a share of the blossoming Indian SUV pie. 

While reports claim that the company is keen to set up a manufacturing facility in India, there’s also rumours that they may look at acquiring GM’s plant in Halol, Gujarat. MG Motor India is tight lipped on the matter as of now, but we’re sure that the car maker fully understands our market’s lack of affinity towards Chinese products. 

Which is why we think that the Group’s Roewe brand of cars that cater primarily to the Chinese market should ideally not make it to the Indian market. And it would be wise for SAIC to introduce cars from the MG fleet. Here’s the two SUVs that we spotted in their UK line-up.

MG GS

This is a fairly new model and it competes in the international arena with cars like the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Renault Captur, Suzuki Vitara, and the Skoda Yeti. MG has just begun selling the petrol-only GS SUV in the UK with a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine developed with inputs from GM. Although the UK market is still far away from getting a diesel motor thanks to the stringent EU regulations, expect the Indian version to get one.

MG XS/ZS

This crossover is aimed directly at vehicles like the Ford Ecosport, Maruti Brezza and Renault’s Duster. Though the MG XS is yet to be introduced in the UK, the car was launched as the ZS earlier this year in China. It sits below the larger MG GS and comes equipped with either a 125bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol motor or a 120bhp 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. It also comes with the choice of automatic or manual transmissions.

Stay tuned to CarWale for more news on SAIC’s plans in the time to come.