Last year, SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, China’s largest carmaker announced its re-entry into India through its subsidiary MG Motor India. The company is launching its first product in India – an SUV – in mid-2019, and is building up robust processes and systems to ensure it is able to make a mark for itself in the Indian market. Auto Tech Review was invited by MG Motor India on a trip to SAIC’s facilities in Shanghai, China recently. The trip, more than anything, was an eye-opener to the tremendous progress SAIC, and the Chinese industry in general, has made as vehicle makers. Read on.
The Indian automotive industry has remained one of the most promising markets in the world for automakers. Some took early advantage of this potential, and have been able to create a significant mark for themselves, while many others – despite heavy investments, redrawn strategies and product introductions – haven’t quite had a smooth run in the market.
Come 2019, the industry will see two international brands enter the market – Kia Motor and SAIC Motor, through its subsidiary MG Motor India. Interestingly, both companies have announced their foray into the market with SUVs, clearly highlighting the choice and preference of Indian consumers in current times. Although their products would be positioned differently in different categories, both these brands have been able to create a buzz in the market considering the promise and excitement they both bring in.
MG Motor India in particular is being watched very closely – by customers, analysts and the industry alike. MG, or Morris Garages, is a 94-years-old British marquee brand that was purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group in 2006. In 2008, Nanjing merged into SAIC. In these past 10 years, SAIC Motor has literally transformed the company into a modern, technologically-sound, innovative and aspirational brand.
At the same time, we must recall SAIC’s first foray into the Indian market, that time as a JV with General Motors, which planned to develop and manufacture commercial vehicles and other products for India and exports. The products it introduced then didn’t quite gel with the Indian consumers, and they withered away without much of a remembrance.
But 2019 is going to be different – manufacturers have matured, and so have products and consumers. Will SAIC Motor be able to replicate its Chinese success in India? Time will tell.
THE INDIA STRATEGY
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