The Indian automotive industry is still ailing from low demand which was a major concern even before the pandemic struck another strong blow. Things do look a little less gloomy now as demand for automobiles has increased considerably, with the festivities and the fear of travelling in public transport playing major roles. November 2020 might not be that great for some manufacturers but new entrants like MG and Kia have reported strong performance. The reason behind their strong performance might be the launch of new products like the Kia Sonet and the MG Gloster.
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MG noted that it registered 28.5 per cent sales growth last month as compared to the same period last year. The Chinese owned British carmaker sold 4,163 units last month as compared to 3,239 units during November 2019.
MG retailed 3,426 units of Hector last month, registering the SUV’s second-highest monthly sales since launch. The recently launched Gloster registered 627 units last month and has raked in over 2,500 bookings so far. And as for the all-electric MG ZS EV, the company sold 110 units of the SUV last month. Rakesh Sidana, Director – Sales, MG Motor India, said, “Buoyed by continued festival demand and the sustained demand for the Hector and ZS EV alongside the successful launch of the MG Gloster, we have recorded 28.5% growth in November 2020 vis-à-vis the last year. We expect the momentum to continue in December and expect to close this year on a strong note.”
Better performance than Ford?
What’s worth noting here is that MG is claiming to have overtaken Ford India in terms of sales last month. According to sources, Ford sold only 3,991 units of vehicles last month in India. The biggest losers in the month of November were Ford after recording -44% in the negative while Toyota and Volkswagen both registered sales in the red by -31% in sales between October and November 2020.
Also read: MG Hector, Hector Plus and ZS EV now Available With Discounts for the First Time
Talking about MG’s most popular offerings, Hector and Hector Plus, they both are powered by the same Fiat-sourced 2.0-litre diesel and in-house developed 1.5-litre mild-hybrid petrol unit. Both the engines are mated to a six-speed manual gearbox as standard along with the dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) as optional on the petrol model. The diesel mill generates output figures of 170 PS of power and 350 Nm of torque. The petrol unit belts out 143 PS of power and 250 Nm of torque. The 1.5-litre petrol unit can also be coupled with a 48V mild-hybrid system mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox.