To arrest the declining market share and its loss of the number two position in the Indian electric vehicle (EV) market, the joint venture of Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Group and China’s SAIC is betting on a new sport utility vehicle (SUV) with both EV and hybrid powertrains, which was launched on Wednesday.
JSW MG Motor India has lagged industry growth in electric vehicles in each month of 2026, leading to the loss of its number two position in the EV market to Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, prompting a fresh product offensive. The market share of JSW MG has gone down to 23% in 2026 from 29% in 2025, with its Windsor model doing the heavy lifting, according to data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (Fada).
After a gap of two years, the company launched a mass-market EV, the Hector Tomahawk, following the success of a similar model Mahindra launched in November, which has become the country's largest-selling EV in recent months.
MG is working to expand its capacity to meet rising demand for EVs and boost sales, Parth Jindal, director at JSW MG Motor India, told reporters in Mumbai on the sidelines of the car’s launch. MG plans to increase capacity to over 300,000 by the end of next year, from around 110,000.
The launch comes even as JSW and SAIC are in talks to invest additional funds in MG.
The focus on helping MG recover its market position comes ahead of JSW Group's own car brand launch within the next six months, which will aim to take on established carmakers in the new energy vehicle market, including EVs and hybrid vehicles.
Product offensive
“Tomahawk is an all-new Adapt platform, which is going to be the cornerstone of our SUV C strategy for the next I would say seven to eight years,” Jindal said.
- JSW MG launched the Hector Tomahawk SUV to reclaim lost market share.
- The company lost its second-place EV ranking in India to Mahindra.
- MG’s market share fell from 29% in 2025 to 23% in 2026.
- An investment of ₹3,000-4,000 crore will triple factory capacity by late 2027.
- JSW and SAIC continue negotiations regarding additional funding and ownership stakes.
The carmaker launched a new vehicle platform, MG Adapt, on which it will develop electric vehicles and hybrids, with the aim of cutting new-car development costs by more than a third, Mint reported in July.
The company has committed to investing about ₹3,000-4,000 crore over the next four years as it focuses on capacity expansion, increasing localisation, and product launches.
JSW Group acquired a controlling stake in 2024. SAIC holds 49% in JSW MG Motor India, while JSW Ventures owns about 35%. The remaining stake is held by Indian financial institutions, dealers and employees. It has lost ground to Mahindra and Mahindra over the past seven months as Mahindra has upped the ante in the EV market with four products in the last 18 months.
Between January and July, its sales increased year on year by 18% to 38,489 units, against an industry total EV sales growth of 77% to 169,632 units in the same period, according to Fada.
The company’s market share has fallen steeply over the past year, so there is a need for product action, said Subhabrata Sengupta, partner at Avalon Consulting.
“Hector Tomahawk is interesting as it takes on Mahindra 9S, Kia Carens Clavis and Tata Harrier at either end if you stretch,” he said.
Stake sale talks
Jindal said that both shareholders are excited about the Indian market but wanted to gauge the success of the JV's products before taking the next step in the partnership.
Previously, Jindal mentioned that JSW wants to take a majority stake, but the deal remains a work in progress.
“They see India as the next bastion, the next growth engine, and obviously they see the partnership with JSW as a competitive edge because none of the other Chinese OEMs have been able to have an Indian partner,” Jindal explained on how SAIC is viewing the Indian market, given the fact that EV growth in China is saturating.
“They also understand that a local promoter is going to be far more aggressive and knows the market far better than any OEM or any international multinational. Their thought process is far ahead. So there has been a lot of discussion,” he said.