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-   -   MG Windsor EV to get a larger battery, improved range (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/electric-cars/293730-mg-windsor-ev-get-larger-battery-improved-range.html)

MG Windsor with larger battery launching next month.

The first update on Windsor will arrive in just 8 months of it going on sale in India.

The larger battery could take the Windsor’s range closer to 400km, probably making it viable even for trips outside the city.

Link:

This should help bring some sanity in pricing for the ICE- converted EV variants of the 50Kwh Hyundai Creta EV and 55Kwh Tata Curvv EV just as it did by forcing Tata to introduce the long-witheld Nexon EV 45Kwh.

It should also help keep Suzuki's pricing for the e-Vitara in check for India. Going by the media snippets, it seems Suzuki is too optimistic about the pricing, treating the car as if it's the best thing since sliced bread (deja vu Jimny).

Pricing sanity for Curvv and Creta is overdue.

Windsor brought the prices of Nexon and XUV400 to reasonable levels earlier, it is time for Curvv and Creta.

Hope the eVitara and Sierra EV get the memo as well.

The only items missing on the Windsor for it to be the de-facto EV for the urban middle class is
1. The 350km range battery
2. UV/IR cut glass to improve AC performance
3. BNCAP Rating
4. ADAS

I hope this update brings all 4 of these missing bits.

I assume they'll retire the ZS EV with this. The Windsor is such a tempting package now!

Suzuki has openly said that the e-Vitara is meant mainly for export. I don't think they really care if they don't sell too much in India as Exporting them to European markets would be far more profitable. Meanwhile a few loyalist would buy the car and they get some free press. What Maruti has promised is not just the Car but the whole ecosystem including charge point at their unmatchable dealership network and even emergency Road Side charging assistance.

So they might not price it too competitively.

Look at the Jimny, its flopped so hard in India and we were all saying how Suzuki is looking at huge losses and the plates have completely turned once they started exports especially to Japan. The waiting period internationally is running in months because they can't produce enough of it. If my info is right, the start of production of the Export variants to Japan were delayed by 1 year due to some issue. Otherwise it would have been deemed a "Sucess" from day 1.

Their plants are a running at max capacity utilisation and they are making money at the end of the day and in the short term that's what matters to them.

Whether they are planning long term, we can only wait and watch.

In the mean time, they'll be minting money selling Hybrids in India.
Suzuki is preparing for a Hybrid onslaught across their entire product range. Even the Govt. has started making the right noises concerning Hybrid vehicles.

This is the ZS Replacement

https://youtu.be/IS7VAiyKTbI?si=V_bGTrss_K3bVeDl

If you have watched the eVitara review by the same person, you will know how much better this is.

Regarding hybrids, more power to them. I would actually love to have a Hybrid that doesn't compromise on cargo room like the Grand Vitara / Hyryder does. In its current form, the capacity is not too different from my Figo or a Grand i10 Nios. Without the road tax, Grand Vitara / Hyryder has a considerable price advantage compared to the BE6 Pack 1 (which is priced equal OTR Pune to the base Hyryder hybrid currently). With this advantage, the Hybrids can better compete with the likes of the Windsor.

But what use is better highway range compared to electrics if you can't carry 2 weeks luggage on the trip with the family? I hope Maruti / Toyota / anybody else working on Hybrids addresses this in their upcoming products. Because for now, if you can plan your 40-minute charging stop with lunch and overnight charging at the hotel, the 350-400km electrics are pretty much winning the road-trip battle.

Hopefully this update also includes a working suspension, the current one is terrible for Indian roads

Very fair point. But we also live a land filled with people who will happily plonk a CNG cylinder in the boot effectively eliminating Luggage space just for saving on Fuel Cost:D

It looks more promising based on her remarks. I hope that MG launches the new Windsor and S5 soon on a competitive pricing to India.

Today I did a 270km highway trip from South Delhi to Alwar and back in the same day.
Drove point to point and never did I drive less than 80 on the highways.

Had short burst of aggressive driving but not for more than 10mins out of the 240mins (4hr) journey in total.

There was severe range anxiety on the way back. but the car is so planted, drives so well, picks up pace so well, wonderful.

Started at 100% and reached home with 2% charge (4km on display) left.

Total distance covered= 270kms

Great for highway range in my opinion.

Windsor saved me over my Strong Hybrid Invicto:

38kwh x Rs.6 per unit= Rs.228

vs
Invicto gives me 19-20kmpl on highways:
96/20=rs. 4.8 per km, approx rs.5 per km.

i.e Rs 1350.

thats a very wide differnce. And I am happy to save it.

I believe that MG has quite an opportunity to price the MG S5 and Windsor 55kWh in an optimal range of around 16-22 lakhs, especially considering the Thailand model which was launched around 18 lakhs INR with quite some heavy offers. https://www.mgcars.com/en/promotions/MG-S5-EV

Of course, the pricing might still vary based on the localisation and manufacturing of the components within India.

An approximate price comparison has been attached below to show the price disparity between India and other countries.