[NiInJa]

I am going to keep a close watch on the sales of this car. Not because I have particular liking for it, just because Mahindra has a similar car and they are not able to sell it much. If MG makes this one successful compared to the Marazzo, then we will have some interesting things to discuss !

[alikidwhy]

This could very well shake the segment I believe like its sibling Hector did.

Innova has been a best seller for way too long and needs some competition to improve or the situation may be like Pre-Globalisation India.

This government is anyway keen on making ours a closed economy by banning anything that isn’t ‘Made In India’ and I support the initiative but only when we are FREE to choose Indian products out of all available, not by closing the economy and sheltering the Indian sellers.

This can be seen in the case where Tyre imports have greater restrictions now.

[coolkurt]

The Hector plus hands free tailgate opening feature in action. All you have to do is wave your leg and the sensors open the boot. Pretty handy if you're carrying luggage in both your hands.

Link to video

[neil.jericho]

I received pictures of the 6 seater variant from the local dealer. This is the stock interior, I have confirmed the same with them. The on road price is yet to be announced.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

The Hector plus hands free tailgate opening feature in action. All you have to do is wave your leg and the sensors open the boot. Pretty handy if you're carrying luggage in both your hands.

OK, I have a question in this regard for Hector Plus as well as other cars like Tiguan or Tucson where you can wag your feet to open the boot. We are talking India. And an SUV parked on the street is a main refuge of our poor street dogs who need some respite from the sun. So every time a doggie slips in/out under the rear wheels, the trunk will open ? Assume you have the key in your pocket and are talking to someone in close proximity to the car, and a doggie or a cat slips in underneath the rear. Will the trunk lid open automatically? It would cause quite a laugh !

[coolkurt]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

So every time a doggie slips in/out under the rear wheels, the trunk will open ? Assume you have the key in your pocket and are talking to someone in close proximity to the car, and a doggie or a cat slips in underneath the rear. Will the trunk lid open automatically? It would cause quite a laugh !

The key should be detected by the sensor near the boot. That means you'll have to be standing at the rear, next to the boot lid. The odds of you standing there and a dog sitting underneath getting up simultaneously is too low.

[Nithesh_M]

So they kind of made the exterior less ugly to look at but decided they need to balance it out by ruining the interior?

[Venkatesh]

MG Motors India is bribing Auto Journalist ahead of Hector Plus launch, also removing all negative articles and news about the brand in India.
MG Motors is taking this step due to the border dispute between India and China (negative sentiment of chinese brand)

The PR agencies working for MG Motors approached Indianautomotive via mails and DM.











https://www.instagram.com/p/CCNsqJ_p...=1s45lh9ycbcq0

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

The PR agencies working for MG Motors approached Indianautomotive via mails and DM.

Something about this just seems a little too ridiculous / fishy.

Mostly the email, which just seems so blatant. It looks like an intial communication, and "Taniya" has outright mentioned the amount offered? That's weird.

Value 360 Communications isn't a first timer PR company (see their clientele list), and Taniya isn't a clueless fresher either, she's been with the company for at least a year or more. So... something seems a bit off? Or have they just got so comfortable with this way of business?


Just to clarify: Taniya H____ is a real person who works there, but the question is whether the mail truly originated from her email address. Her real number was used in the sign-off - but we've blanked it out for the sake of privacy.

IndianAutomotive should check the full email headers ("show original") and see if there's any clues there in terms of it's authenticity or inauthenticity.

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

.... due to the border dispute between India and China (negative sentiment of chinese brand)

^Also this line^ in your post stood out. There certainly is a lot of motivation for some people to malign the Chinese MG, given the heightened political tensions at the moment.

There's a chance it could be a "patriotic" smear campaign, or a competitor-motivated smear campaign striking at the most opportune time.


We'll see how things unravel, but for now, the agency in which Taniya works at has posted this:



As for the other screenshots, they seem to be from unrelated small-time Instagram accounts from what I could tell. (Haven't delved too deep).


EDIT: And... the original post from Indianautomotive has been taken down.

EDIT2: Nope, the entire @IndianAutomotive instagram account seems to be taken down -- probably an Instagram claim filed against it.

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

There certainly is a lot of motivation for some people to malign the Chinese MG.

There's a chance it could be a "patriotic" smear campaign, or a competitor-motivated smear campaign.

Don't know if it's a smear campaign or not, but MG trying put off the unwanted articles across the web is true as I have seen/observed it a number of times since their launch in India.

I think, they(MG) will vindicate and easily get away from this by simply calling it is a smear-campaign.

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

MG Motors India has issued a statement regarding the recent turn of the events. What’s more saddening than the allegedly fake mail is the fact that the PR executive has been getting all sorts of calls and might have to soon change her phone no. It’s actually terrible how some ‘influencer’ shared contact details of a woman on social media. And, frankly, no offence to anyone here, but it was disturbing to see pictures of the aforementioned mail being shared without caring to remove the phone no. of the executive. Thankfully, her no. Has been finally removed from the picture. Another thing, probably, Instagrammers shouldn’t be perceived as automotive journalists.

Regards

[GBX]

Seems like this was the best possible outcome. The journalist can now keep their integrity since they've only removed posts due to "legalities" and not bribes. The manufacturer can now play victim. The PR agency gets a bonus for turning the whole thing around. Win-Win-Win.

Shame about the ignorant masses though. So much happens behind the scenes to ensure they don't ever get to make an "informed decision". (Not that buying this car is a poor decision, but I would respect the decision more if it was made knowing all sides of the story.)

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

MG trying put off the unwanted articles across the web is true as I have seen/observed it a number of times since their launch in India.

Yes, I've seen reports of it too, since quite a while back.

Just this outright blatant offer strikes me as odd, especially coming directly from MG's PR company.

Either:
A) They got too careless & over-confident with their approach, and thought it was a simple task to offer 1 Lakh and get the job done
or
B) Someone else is messing around to flare up anti-China & anti-MG sentiments

Let's see what happens, and if we're lucky we'll get to know the full story!

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Let's see what happens, and if we're lucky we'll get to know the full story!

In this age of internet and social media, we won't get to see the truth, even if we ever by chance get to see the truth we will be doubting it.

Addition: Which respectable automotive forum will post such a thing without an iota of truth, there must be some truth to IndianAutomotive's version too, otherwise they won't be posting it. To say a good thing without truth is okay, but which journalist/reviewer in sane mind will ever dare to post against a company known for bullying customers with court cases.

[Rehaan]

Now that I think about it some more... there was one more screenshot.

It was a call log, with a few numbers in red (I guess missed calls on iOS)?

One (or two) of the missed call numbers were the same as Taniya's number mentioned in the email.

However, it was unclear what time-period the call log screenshot was from, in relation to the email.