MG Windsor EV: Full Prices (Vehicle Plus Battery) To Be Revealed Next Week
JSW-MG Motor made an mighty splash last week, when they unveiled the Windsor electric crossover utility vehicle (CUV) at a stunning starting price of 9.99 lakh. However, there were multiple caveats about this price.
They were 1. A price tag of the Windsor EV’s base trim without the battery included 2. Introductory and 3. Without clear details on how the battery as a service (BAAS) subscription model worked. While we still don’t have clarity on the BAAS model, we can now confirm to you that the full pricing of the Windsor (electric vehicle plus battery) will be revealed early next week.
Dealer sources have revealed that all three variants of the MG Windsor EV will be available for full purchase. This means customers can buy the electric car by paying in full/financing it as a single unit (vehicle plus battery) without having to opt for the BAAS plan. This is how most people buy cars in India, and the same model will be available on the MG Windsor EV as well.
How much will the MG Windsor cost to buy in full?
Taking the base Excite variant into consideration (9.99 lakh rupee introductory price), and the fact that all variants of the Windsor get a 38 kWH battery pack, it’s safe to assume that the electric crossover will start from around 13-14 lakh.
This is assuming that the battery will cost MG-JSW about Rs. 3.6 lakh. We’re assuming that each kWH of the MG Windsor’s battery costs about 110 US dollars, 38 kWH here means around 3.6 lakh rupees (38 times 110 times 86). So, Rs. 9.99 lakh plus Rs. 3.6 lakh is Rs. 13.59 lakh for the Excite variant.
At Rs. 13-14 lakh, the MG Windsor EV will still be a very compelling option for everyone looking for a very spacious and comfortable electric car for intra-city use, and the occasional highway run. The other two variants could be priced at increments of about Rs. 1 lakh, giving the Exclusive variant a price band between Rs. 14-15 lakh, and the top-end Essence variant a price band between Rs. 15-16 lakh.
Meanwhile, both dealers and finance companies (the ones ready to finance batteries) still seem to be in the dark about the BAAS scheme nearly a week after launch. We spoke to two finance companies: Hero FinCorp and VidyutTech, twice, and both of them have yet to give us a clear picture on BAAS. As for dealers, all three dealers we spoke to are waiting for clarity from JSW-MG Motor regarding BAAS.
Why then is JSW-MG Motor playing the BAAS game?
There are multiple reasons for this. For one, JSW-MG Motor wanted to stun the market with a never-seen-before price tag on a reasonably large electric vehicle, and the only way to achieve this ‘shock-and-awe’ effect was to decouple the battery (usually the priciest part of an electric vehicle) from the car itself through a subscription model.
Secondly, a sharp price tag means more people visiting JSW-MG Motor showrooms across the country, and this means better sales, and also the opportunity of upselling the Windsor’s higher variants to customers who have walked into showrooms allured by the shockingly low base price.
Thirdly, BAAS is something that will sit quite well with fleet owners. Given the fact that the MG Windsor, despite a battery rental cost of Rs. 3.5 per kilometer, will still be cheaper to run than say a CNG cab, while offering a lot more space, is something that is a great proposition for cab operators. Also, cab operators would want acquisition cost to be minimal, and would have no problem with the pay-as-you-go model as it keeps cost of capital at bare minimum. Moreover, with BAAS and MG-JSW’s buyback policy, the car can be replaced once in every 3 years – another win for cab operators. So, BAAS, especially on the base trim, is likely to be a big hit among fleet owners if they’re no other hidden clauses.
And finally, the Indian government, by removing subsidies for electric cars in the latest PM E-Drive scheme, has indicated that car makers now have to figure a future without subsidies. This means that the ex-showroom prices of electric cars is likely to go up significantly, making them unappealing to a sizeable chunk of prospective buyers. To sweeten the deal and make EVs more compelling than petrol powered cars, BAAS is a bet that JSW-MG has made. We’ll know if more automakers follow this playbook in the near future depending on how the market responds to JSW-MG’s BAAS scheme.The post MG Windsor EV: Full Prices (Vehicle Plus Battery) To Be Revealed Next Week first appeared on Cartoq.
