MG Air EV likely to get a choice – 30 kW (40 bhp) and 50 kW (67 bhp) electric motor with 200 to 300 km drive range
When it comes to EV tech, MG has been keeping pace with the need of the hour. With ZS EV, MG has presented itself as an early EV player in the Indian market. Sales don’t equal bigger volume products simply because MG’s scale of operations here is not that of a big manufacturer.
While EV tech is touted as the future, cars are not visibly cheaper. Mahindra’s EV portfolio starts from XUV400, and it’s highly unlikely to be priced well within the Rs. 10 lakh bracket. MG currently only has facelifted version of ZS EV in its EV arsenal. It’s pricing starts from Rs. 22.58 lakh. However, MG is keen on bringing a cheaper EV to India. And Wuling Air EV has been spied testing in India.
MG Air EV Spied Testing
If we take a look at the Chinese market, we can see Wuling Hongguang Mini EV at the top of the sales charts. Even beats VW. This Mini EV and Wuling Air EV are very closely related. Not just these two EVs, Baojun E100, E200 and E300 are closely related as well.
These tiny EVs are very popular in China. Wuling Hongguang Mini EV alone sold 56,609 units in the month of July 2022. MG Air EV is a two-door electric hatchback that targets urban commutes in China, And it’s likely to be the case in India as well. Mahindra attempted to make a name in micro EV segment with e2O and e2O Plus, but wasn’t met with much success in the early years.
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MG Air EV is smaller than an Alto 800. It is produced by joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling based on their GSEV (Global Small Electric Vehicle) platform in China. MG is likely to go with as much localization as possible.
Specs & Launch
MG Air EV has 2 variants, an SWB (Standard Wheel Base) and an LWB (Long Wheel Base). SWB measures 2,599 mm in length and LWB measures 2,974 mm in length. Irrespective of the length, width is 1,505 mm and is 1,631 mm tall. Seating layout differs with SWB variants getting just 2 seats, and LWB variants get 4 seats.
In China, Air EV gets 30 kW (40 bhp) and 50 kW (67 bhp) motor options coupled to a single-speed automatic unit. MG Air EV spied in India, gets a rear tail-gate mounted spare wheel. With a 12” wheel, it is not yet known if it will don a side-hinged tailgate or a top-hinged tailgate.
Battery capacity is not yet known. In Indonesia, it gets a choice between 200km to 300km range on a single charge. The former is priced at IDR 250 million (Rs 13.2 lakh) and the latter is priced at IDR 300 million (Rs 15.9 lakh). MG is likely to make Air EV very feature-rich. We could be looking at dual 10.2” horizontal displays, retro-futuristic appeal and a lot more. Launch is likely to happen sometime in 2023. It could be priced cheaper than the recently launched Tata Tiago EV.
Source: Electric - rushlane.com
