JSW MG Motor to launch a plug-in hybrid model this year

2026-27 will be a busy time for JSW MG Motor. The brand has just unveiled the Majestor – its flagship SUV – and is all set to launch six new models, including, very notably, a plug-in hybrid. Speaking to Autocar India on the sidelines of the Majestor unveil, Anurag Mehrotra, managing director, JSW MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd said, “So this year, you will see us bringing in a plug-in hybrid as well”.

The news of a plug-in hybrid is notable not only due to the fact that strong-hybrid sales are picking up but also because this would be the first plug-in hybrid by a mass manufacturer. Currently, only premium end models like the BMW XM and the Lamborghini Urus SE are plug-in hybrids in our market.

1. Upcoming MG model will be first mass-market plug-in hybrid
2. MG plans to launch six new models in two years, including ICE and electrified models

Since their coming together, JSW and MG Motor have always stated their intent to be a leader in the electrified vehicle space, or new energy vehicles (NEVs) as the brand calls them. Currently, the company is placed second when it comes to electric car sales, with the Windsor being the country’s bestselling EV last year.

While sales of electric vehicles slowed a bit post the recent GST cut – making up for roughly 4–5 percent of total sales – Mehrotra believes that EV penetration will rise as more products enter the market; he anticipates a 6-7 percent share in 2026. “The new energy unlock is not a demand side issue, it is a supply side issue. More products that come to the market, more brands that come into the market, more segments that open up will [all] bring more consumers,” said Mehrotra. He added that new models from the brand this year would be “an EV and a plug-in hybrid”. Mehrotra did not share further details of the models but only stated that the plug-in would sit on an all-new multi-energy platform.

Product planning anchored in gap identification

Mehrotra says the upcoming launches will follow the same product-definition philosophy that drove the success of the Windsor EV, currently one of the company’s strongest-selling nameplates. “Full marks to the product planning team, because they identified in the case of Windsor that there was a clear sweet spot between Rs 13 lakh-18 lakh,” Mehrotra said. Rather than expanding indiscriminately, MG says it is carefully selecting segments. “Strategy is about making choices. It is about saying yes to some and no to some. You cannot say yes to everything,” he said.

Indeed, with its Chinese partners SAIC, JSW MG Motor India has access to pretty much every segment of automobiles, including mass segment hatchbacks, but the company intends on only entering select segments. “We don’t want to enter a segment to play, we want to enter to win,” says Mehrotra. Upcoming products are expected to span both mass-market EVs and higher-margin offerings, including models under the MG Select premium retail channel.

With a portfolio heavily focused on NEVs, Mehrotra expects 75 percent of its total sales to come from the new energy vehicle space. “It’s (NEV share) around 80 percent of our business and I do not see it dropping below 75 percent,” he said, adding that the company will continue to offer select ICE models, but the focus would remain on electrified powertrains.

With inputs from Ketan Thakkar