Firm to invest ₹2,000 crore, roll out first car in 2019

U.K.-based MG Motor, the subsidiary of Chinese automobile giant SAIC Motor said it had inaugurated its first-ever manufacturing facility in India at the closed down car manufacturing facility of General Motors at Halol in Gujarat.

The company said it would invest a minimum of ₹2,000 crore in its car manufacturing facility in India.

With an initial capacity of 80,000 units per annum in the first phase, MG Motor India will roll out its first product from the plant in 2019, the company said.

The facility at Halol spread over an area of 170 acres, would be completely revamped by MG Motor by 2019. The company had already hired an initial workforce of 70 employees at the plant, the company said in a statement. “Today is a water-shed moment for the MG brand in India with the inauguration of our first-ever manufacturing facility here,” said Rajeev Chaba, president and managing director, MG Motor India.

Brand resonance

“The Morris Garages brand already has a huge resonance in India with at least 500 owners in India since 1924, when the brand was first established in the U.K. These owners and many passionate fans have expressed their curiosity, keenly anticipating the brand’s return to India. The first product will roll out from here in 2019, blending MG’s true DNA with modern British design language,” Mr. Chaba added. The Gujarat government had taken a proactive role for restarting of car mufacturing at the Halol plant.

“We greatly appreciate the pro-active approach displayed by the Gujarat government in facilitating the smooth transfer approval of the Halol plant and granting us the required approvals to re-start the operations,” P. Belendran, executive director, MG Motor India, said.

“With the takeover and other transfer formalities having completed, we will start refurbishing the entire plant very soon, with MG’s state-of-the-art manufacturing tools, equipment and processes,” he added.