I was patiently waiting for the initial excitement at pricing to mellow down before commenting on it. As many expected, they have hit it out of the park with the pricing. Extremely aggressive in every manner. By 2020, they are going to be have 250 showrooms/touch points. FYR, Compass, being in India for 2 years roughly now has close to 60 showroom is what once GTO had commented few weeks back in another thread. Shows the commitment from MG. With Hector, MG is just showing a glimpse of what is in store of us in Future. I would even go ahead and say that Hector is just a "love at first sight" kind of car. They are going to offer us much better cars, especially in Hybrid and eventually in Electric. That is their big ticket to capture Indian Market.
I was trying to imagine a conversation between two normal Customers, not auto enthusiasts or BHPians. It would be something like this. (No Offense at anyone, just for fun)
GUY1: Buddy did you check out MG Hector Pricing?
GUY2: Oh yes!, What a Fantastic Debut. They just Arrived in Style.
GUY1: I Completely Agree. So, What do you think of the car?
GUY2: I think it's worth the money. Looks like a Solid Car.
GUY1: Agree. So Are you planning to buy one, you were looking for a SUV right?
GUY2: Well. I am still not convinced. Something is a miss.
GUY1: What do you mean?
GUY2: Something from the inside tells me not to put money in them.
GUY1: Dude be reasonable. You can't just tell some gyan without facts.
GUY2: OK. Hear me out, I can give you at least 10 reasons for not buying MG.
GUY1: Wow. Please go ahead. Very eager to hear.
GUY2: Well for starters, MG is a Chinese company.
GUY1: Seriously? That is your
first concern?
GUY2: Not a concern as such, but Chinese goods are not that reliable na.
GUY1: Dude, we Indians are breathing, drinking, eating Chinese every second of life. Almost every item right from a small safety pin to parts of submarine are made in China. Plus they have made huge investments in India for manufacturing Hector right?
GUY2: So what? They still use Chinese parts right?
GUY1: OK, so that is your
second concern. But Localization is almost 80% right? Also the expensive phone you are holding in your hand right now is also made in China with Chinese parts.
GUY2: You have a point there but see MG is quite new in India. How can we have a piece of mind.
GUY1: Valid concern, which is your
Third one. But Isn't that why they are giving 5 year/Unlimited warranty?
GUY2: Yes, but still what if I am not happy with it eventually?
GUY1: That can happen with any car but I see your point [Concern
Four]and they have a solution for that as well. They are introducing a Buy Back Guarantee where you can give it back to them and get approx. 50% right? Is there any company that sells a 20L Car and is ready to take it back for Half the price after 3 years?
GUY2: If you put it that way, yes. But what if Car has some serious mechanical Issues and breaks down after couple of years in some remote location where MG is not present?
GUY1: OK Concern Number
Five. To mitigate this concern, MG has come up with 5 year RSA along with 5 year Warranty which pretty much solves the remote location problem. Also, They are planning to have at least 200-250 showrooms/service center's by 2020.
GUY2: How about Initial niggles? How can I trust it will not have them?
GUY1: A very valid concern number
Six. Tell me are there any car today without few niggles? It comes to all about how MG handles them. We can only be hopeful that being a new entrant , they will try to work it out in the best possible manner so that it can have a positive effect on customer. Come on give me your next concern.
GUY2: Actually Not a concern, but I would like to wait for a couple of years and see how MG has done and then take the plunge.
GUY1: But you were looking for a car urgently right?
GUY2: Well yeah..but eh..well..you see I don't want to be a guinea pig. Let some people try it out and give feedback. Then I will think about it.
GUY1: Woah.. let me get this straight. You want others to try it and become sort of Guinea pigs?
GUY2: Well. The whole world is like that my friend. I cannot splurge 20L on a car without any guarantee. Let others spend and I will judge based on that, maybe a couple of years later.
GUY1: But you see, these are introductory prices. They will surely go up in 2 years time. At that point It might not be the most value for money car whereas it is now. That is the advantage you get now.
GUY2: Well, there is much lesser risk my way if you ask me.
GUY1: Well that depends on person to person. Come on give me your next concern.
GUY2: Dude, I gave you so many. How much more you need?
GUY1: You said 10, I got only 6.
GUY2: Well, I think I have covered all basic concerns. Nothing more to add.
GUY1: Let me ask you this. How did you feel when you test drove Hector?
GUY2: I did not yet get time to do that buddy.
GUY1: What?

We discussed all these without you even doing a test drive?
GUY2: Well.
GUY1: So what will you do for your immediate requirement?
GUY2: Well, I am going to Hyundai Showroom today to book Creta, it's the fifth one in our family. Solid, reliable and Safe.
GUY1: Wow congrats buddy. When did you test drive that? How was it?
GUY2: One doesn't need to TD Creta my friend. All my Uncles and Aunts are all very happy with it. It just cannot go wrong.
GUY1: WELL!!