The upcoming micro SUV, featuring three doors, will share the same platform as the hatchback model.
16 Mar 2023 | 37120 Views | By Gavin D'Souza, Autocar India
The MG Comet electric city car is all set to create a lot of buzz at the lower end of the Indian EV market with its ultra-compact dimensions, boxy shape, three-door layout and long equipment list, with a launch likely in May 2023. However, it won’t stop there, as MG ...
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The MG Comet electric city car is all set to create a lot of buzz at the lower end of the Indian EV market with its ultra-compact dimensions, boxy shape, three-door layout and long equipment list, with a launch likely in May 2023. However, it won’t stop there, as MG Motor India plans to spin more bodystyles off the Comet’s Global Small Electric Vehicle (GSEV) platform, starting with a micro SUV.
MG electric compact SUV battery and powertrain
With MG working to heavily localise the Comet hatchback and all its components – including sourcing the battery from Tata Autocomp – it’s little surprise that this next model will be closely related to it, to take advantage of this localisation.
Yes, the GSEV platform will be used largely unchanged and, as such, the new compact electric SUV (codename: E260) will be only slightly larger than the Comet, measuring under three metres in length, and share its three-door layout. Like the Comet, it doesn’t aim for practicality and instead is designed as a compact but space-efficient city car.
In fact, there’s a good chance it will borrow its appearance from the Yep micro SUV concept shown by MG’s sister brand Baojun in 2022, and that’s only a good thing. The concept features a boxy shape, much like the Comet, but the styling treatment is very retro, akin to the Maruti Jimny or Ford Bronco, and that’s sure to go down well in India. Apart from riding higher off the ground than the MG Comet, it also features larger wheels and tyres.
As for the powertrain, while the Comet is powered by a 17.3kWh battery and a single, rear-mounted motor good for just 40hp, this concept uses a dual-motor set-up with over 100hp and all-wheel drive. Whether the production car for India makes good on this, however, remains to be seen.
MG electric compact SUV expected price and launch
With a launch expected sometime in 2025, MG will have enough time to localise the components of the GSEV platform for this micro SUV, and thus could bring it to market at an aggressive price. It will still, however, be priced above the MG Comet, and thus we expect it to fall in the Rs 12 lakh-15 lakh (ex-showroom) range. An SUV like this wouldn’t have any direct rivals in India, with the closest being the Citroen eC3 crossover, but like with the Comet, MG will set this SUV apart from the rest of the market with a greater focus on tech and interior quality, both of which will be at the level of more expensive cars.