State-owned EESL to place order for at least five MG ZS EV

MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd, a recent entrant into India’s automobile market, on Thursday said it has received interest from state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) for procuring at least five of its new ZS electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV) for use by top bureaucrats and ministers.

The interest from EESL, a joint venture of four state-run companies in the power sector aimed at promoting energy efficiency, is a sign that MG Motor India could be in the running for more electric vehicle orders from the government. Three years ago, EESL, which comes under the power ministry, had issued a tender for 10,000 electric vehicles. The order was bagged by Tata Motors Ltd and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M).

MG Motor India, owned by China’s SAIC Motor Corp., on Thursday introduced ZS, its first electric vehicle, at ₹20.88 lakh and ₹23.58 lakh for the two variants on offer. The company is offering a warranty of eight years, or 150,000km, on the vehicle’s lithium battery.

MG Motor India is the second automaker after South Korea’s Hyundai Motor India Ltd to launch a long-range EV in India. The company has received over 2,400 bookings for the ZS and will ramp up production from 150-200 vehicles now to 300 units per month from March to meet demand, Rajiv Chaba, president and managing director, MG Motor India, said at a news conference.

Orders from individual car buyers comprised nearly 80% of the order book. The rest is from employee transport service provider Lithiuim Urban Technologies and other shared mobility service providers. “Most of the fleet companies who only run EVs are eyeing our vehicle for movement of chief executives and airport transport of high net-worth individuals," Chaba said. “We want to promote this vehicle in that segment and would also like customers to experience the vehicle through subscription models."