MG Motor’s Bold Bet: 80% of Its India Sales Could Be Electric This Year

JSW MG Motor India is wagering big on electrified vehicles, with managing director Anurag Mehrotra saying the company now expects new-energy vehicles (NEVs) to account for close to 80% of its total sales this year, ahead of its own long-term target of 75%.

Mehrotra told TOI that passenger vehicle EV penetration in India had slipped below 4% at the start of 2026 but crossed 8% by June, as rising fuel prices and growing awareness of running-cost savings pushed more buyers toward electrified options. ‘Demand is not the challenge any more. The challenge is giving customers enough choice,’ he said.

MG’s definition of new-energy vehicles spans battery EVs, conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and range-extender EVs. To widen that lineup, the company will launch its first PHEV later this financial year, aimed largely at buyers who would otherwise choose a diesel SUV.

According to Mehrotra, a plug-in hybrid combines the low running costs of an EV with the reassurance of a petrol engine for longer trips, removing range anxiety without requiring dependence on charging infrastructure. The technology is common in China and Europe but has yet to gain traction in India, where automakers have largely stuck to either pure EVs or conventional hybrids.

The upcoming models will be built on MG’s newly unveiled ADAPT (Advance Drive Architecture Platform Technology), which the company describes as India’s first multi-new-energy-vehicle platform, supporting battery EVs, hybrids, PHEVs and range-extender EVs on a single common architecture.

MG’s push comes as the broader Indian EV market accelerates: Tata Motors, still the country’s largest electric passenger vehicle maker, now draws around a fifth of its passenger vehicle sales from EVs, while Mahindra’s electric range made up about 12% of its passenger vehicle volumes in June. Industry-wide, EV sales are growing at roughly 70%, well ahead of the overall passenger vehicle market.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/by Saiphani02