While we were expecting the upcoming MG 5-seater SUV ‘Astor’ just to be the ICE-powered counterpart of the ZS EV, MG India dropped a nuke today by revealing quite a few details about its upcoming car. The details revealed today only cater to the tech front of the vehicle but let us clue you in, the MG Astor will have all it takes to cause an absolute disruption in the market. MG has announced that the Astor will get a first-in-segment AI assistant and wait for it… autonomous level 2! That will make it even more advanced than MG’s flagship offering in India – the Gloster.
Personal AI assistant
It is a lot to take in but we will delve into the details one by one. The presentation started with introducing the AI assistant that the Astor will come loaded with.
It is basically a droid placed on the Astor’s dashboard that can interact with you. Perform certain functions and it can also change its expressions! Think of it as MG’s version of the ‘OK Google!’ voice assistance that we have on our Android smartphones but giving it a separate physical entity is one cool move!
Autonomous Level 2 ADAS
The MG Gloster caused quite a ruckus in its segment by offering Autonomous Level 1. It became the first offering the premium SUV segment to offer ADAS features and now, MG is going to step up its game even further by introducing Level 2 of its autonomous tech in the Astor. Some of the key features included in this package will be Adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, speed assist system, blind-spot detection, forward collision warning and a lot more!
MG’s i-Smart Hub
CAAP or Car As A Platform is an AI-backed solution for vehicles. MG is working actively with various global ecosystem partners in emerging technologies like Blockchain, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence amongst others to form the support system for CAAP. The car will get a iSmart Hub which will provide add-on subscription services depending on the user’s demands. The company has partnered with Jio to provide connectivity on the go. The car will get an embedded Jio SIM to provide services. The company has also tied up with Park+ to help users to book a parking slot beforehand. iSmart Hub will also get MapMyIndia to provide built-in navigation using 4D maps.
While MG is yet to reveal the vehicle and its specifications in full, today’s event confirmed one thing: the Astor isn’t just going to be yet another entrant in the segment that is currently being ruled by the Korean duo, but it will aim straight for the throne!