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Sajjan Jindal, MD and Chairman, JSW (Jindal South West) Group, has been in talks with China’s SAIC-owned MG Motor India to acquire a small stake in the company to enter the electric vehicle (EV) business.
(MG Motor had earlier announced its plan to sell 20% stake to raise capital for its capacity expansion.)
“It is the area (EV sector) we must enter. Because EV is the future, I am sure this is a good time to enter”, Jindal said in an interview with ET Now.
Jindal said the way for entering the game has not been decided yet. Though MG will be a preferred choice, the company is also looking to manufacture its own electric cars in India.
This will be the second attempt of JSW to enter the emerging EV market. In 2018, JSW had recruited the seasoned industry professional Rakesh Srivastava, current MD of Nissan India, to create a layout for entering the EV market. The company in 2019 had earmarked INR 6,500 crore for its entry to EV and was in talks with General Motors to acquire its manufacturing plant near Pune. However, the company later backed out from the EV industry entry plan. It was attributed to the “anticipated uncertainties in the industry.”
In the recent ET Now interview, Jindal said that the company was willing to enter the EV industry, with or without MG Motors. This would be the commencement of JSW, a leading steel, energy, and infrastructure organization, in the automobile industry.
On the sidelines of a ‘World Entrepreneur of The Year 2023’ event, Sajjan Jindal expressed the interest of the group to manufacture batteries in India. He said acquisition was an easier path to enter a new area, thus he showed an interest in acquiring a stake in MG Motors, if they were willing to sell, for entering the EV Sector. Seshagiri Rao, the CFO of JSW, in January2023 told PTI that the group-level discussions were going on about EV manufacturing.
Jindal considers China to be way ahead of any country in EVs. However, he made it clear that if India has a hostile relationship with China, the company would not invest in MG Motors.
JSW is not only in talks with MG Motor but also BYD for its foray into the EV sector. MG Motors came into India in 2019, with its first car. Business Standard reported in April, 2023 that MG Motor India is planning to sell around 20% stake of its company to raise a funding of INR 3,000 crore to increase the capacity of its plant in Gujarat from 1,20,000 to 1,30,000 units by 2024.
