MG Motor has confirmed the launch of new ZS SUV petrol will take place in 2021 – Price under Rs 10 lakh
MG Motor has had a dream-run in India since the launch of its first product, the Hector. After the launch of the Hector, over the last 1.5-2 years, MG has been able to introduce 3 more products, namely the MG ZS EV, its flagship – the Gloster and the MG Hector Plus. Strategically, MG has decided to restrict itself in the SUV space as it believes that the SUV segment can help it with some exceptional sustainable growths in the coming years.
New Product Launch
Continuing with its plan, MG is now readying itself to launch the fifth MG product for India. The MG ZS SUV will be powered by a conventional IC engine and is expected to become a big number churner for MG in India. MG has been selling the ZS EV in India for almost a year and now it plans to bring in the standard ZS SUV which it sells in multiple international markets.
The ZS SUV test mules have been spied on test in the country and their spotting incidents have gone up considerably in the recent past. The most interesting set of spyshots of the ZS SUV have come in from auto enthusiast Naveen Shah who managed to capture a test unit of the 2021 ZS SUV near Vadodara.
Facelifted ZS to make Indian debut
What we can derive from the spyshot is that India will most probably get the updated version of the ZS SUV which was launched for international markets earlier this year. The alloy wheel design looks updated as it features a dual-tone petal-like pattern, exactly similar to the one on the 2020 ZS SUV facelift for markets like the UK.
While overall profile of the crossover remains similar to the pre-facelift version, MG has brought in subtle changes to infuse a new life to the product. Lower variants will get single tone alloys, as seen in spy shot above, credit to Savan Patel.
Powertrain and Specs
Under the hood, it isn’t clear as in which engine options will MG plan to bring in. However, we believe that the car might be launched as a petrol-only model, at least in the initial stage. Later, MG might plan to introduce a diesel motor additionally.
Internationally, the ZS is available with 2 petrol engine options, a 1.3 litre turbo petrol and a 1.5 litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. MT and automatic (as CVT or AT) transmission options are expected to be on offer. However, exact specification related details are expected to be out closer to the official Indian unveil.
Launch and Pricing
Indian launch of the ZS SUV should take place in H1’21. Post launch, the ZS will land up becoming the new entry-level offering from MG and will be the most affordable MG in India. Pricing could commence around the INR 9-10 lakhs mark and go up to INR 13-14 lakh mark.
Knowing MG Motor India and their pricing strategy, they might even disrupt the segment by launching it at a really aggressive price tag – in the Rs 8 lakhs range. Primarily the ZS will be competing with cars like the Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta and upcoming cross-overs like Taigun from VW and production version of the Skoda Vision IN.