New Delhi:
MG ZS EV, the first electric vehicle from the automaker, will be launched in India in January 2020. However, the British automobile giant MG Motor has started accepting pre-bookings for ZS EV for an amount of Rs 50,000. This comes days after MG ZS EV scored a 5-Star safety rating in the Euro NCAP crash test for frontal, frontal-offset, and side collision. This means that the body of an electric SUV is stable. It is to be noted that the MG’s electric vehicle comes to our market as a completely knocked down unit (CKD) and will be assembled locally at the automaker's Halol plant in Gujarat.
The MG’s compact electric SUV is 4314 mm long, 1809 mm wide while it stands 1620 mm tall. The space between the wheels is 2579 mm. On the design front, MG ZS EV gets an aggressive look and gets decent proportions, sporting a bold diamond finished grille upfront flanked by projector headlamps, swooping bonnet, and a curved roofline. The rear gets LED taillamps below the raked windscreen and the license plate area has been moved down to the bumper. Overall, the SUV looks smart.
Coming to the interior of the MG ZS EV, the cabin is finished in black and there are silver inserts on the dash, door pads and circular air-con vents on both ends. The SUV boasts of an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, USB mobile charging function at the front and rear, Bluetooth functionality, and rear-view parking camera, among others. Also, there is an Apple Carplay and Android Auto on offer along with a sky sunroof. The MG ZS EV is also equipped with I Smart EV 2.0 connected car technology which makes it a connected car. The MG ZS EV comes with a PM 2.5 air filter which can bring bad air quality level of up to 300 AQI down to regular levels in just 35 mins.
MG ZS EV is powered by a synchronous motor that belts out 141 bhp and 353 Nm of peak torque. The compact electric SUV comes with a 44.5 kWh battery pack that promises a range of 300 km on a single charge. According to the automaker, the lithium-ion unit can be charged up to 80 per cent in 40 minutes with a 50 kW DC charger, or takes up to seven hours with a standard 7 kW charger. The battery system used in the new ZS EV is IP67 certified making it water and dustproof.
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It is worth mentioning here that MG Motor India will also set-up the country's first 50 kW DC fast-charging stations across different cities in a bid to create the charging infrastructure to support EV sales. The automaker has entered in a contract with Fortum India to install the charging network. Fortum has already installed 50 KW CCS/CHAdeMO DC fast Public Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles across MG's showrooms in 5 cities including Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad. Over the next 5 years, Fortum plans to have 1 charging facility every 5 km in major metro cities and every 25 km on the highways. The company has also partnered with Exicom Tele-Systems for second-life use of ZS EV batteries. After the launch, MG ZS EV will compete with the likes of the Hyundai Kona in India.
