MG Motor India, a 100 percent subsidiary of Chinese automotive giant SAIC, like most others, has been busy lending a helping hand to support the fight against coronavirus. In March, the company, with its corporate headquarters in Gurugram and manufacturing facility in Halol, announced Rs 2 crore contributions to government hospitals and health institutions.
Following this initiative, MG Motor India also noted the extreme shortage of ventilators in the country and hence announced the Affordable Ventilator Challenge to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Under this challenge, Indian startups stand a chance to get involved in the fight against coronavirus with the winning startup being involved in the manufacturer ventilators at MG Motors Halol plant in Gujarat.
Now, MG Motor India has revealed that it is collaborating with Singapore-based specialist Medklinn to explore the possibility of introducing “natural sterilisation of cabin air and surfaces” in its vehicle range. The carmaker is assessing the viability of installing Medklinn’s ‘Cerafusion’ sterilisation technology in the Hector SUV and the ZS EV for India.
Medklinn states that its sterilisers equipped with the patented ‘Cerafusion’ technology have been proven to eliminate 99.9 percent of bacteria, virus, moulds, allergens, odours and harmful pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Medklinn also says the tech disinfects cabin surfaces by leveraging “active oxygen”, which comprises negative oxygen ions (O-) and controlled levels of ozone (O3).
Speaking on the association, Rajeev Chaba, President and Managing Director – MG Motor India, said, “As part of our commitment to innovation and safety, we are partnering with Medklinn, one of the top global players in this domain, to explore world-class cabin sterilisation solution in our vehicles. We are pro-actively looking to deploy HVAC system-based cabin sterilisation and disinfection technology. We will continue to work towards developing safer mobility experiences and services for our customers while providing them with a cleaner and safer in-car environment. As a future-forward brand, this initiative also highlights our readiness for the ‘new normal’ in the post-pandemic world.”
The Singapore-based firm already offers cabin decontamination products under its ‘Autoplus’ sub-brand in international markets. Equipped with the active oxygen generating ‘Cerafusion’ tech, the portable devices can either be plugged into the vehicle’s lighter socket or docked into a USB port to operate. If MG’s plans of bringing the technology to its India portfolio materialise, then the novel offering could become a USP in a market still suffering from the repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Peter Tham, CEO of Medklinn states that this patented Cerafusion technology comes as a unique decontamination solution that will disinfect the car cabin air and surfaces prior to delivery to customers. The cars will be delivered or can be used for test drives following a complete sanitization process. Apart from the cars, the staff at dealerships has also been trained to take all precautions to ensure that the service showrooms and workshops are completely sanitized.