UPDATE 3-JSW says MG Motor JV aims to sell 1 mln EVs in India by 2030

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By Dhwani Pandya and VarunVyas Hebbalalu

MUMBAI, March 20 (Reuters) - A JSW Group and MG Motor joint venture aims to have sold 1 million electric vehicles in India by 2030 and to corner a third of the market, a JSW executive said on Wednesday.

At a media event in Mumbai to present their new model, the "Cyberster EV" sportscar, the two companies said that the JV plans to initially focus on premium passenger vehicles.

Sajjan Jindal, JSW Group Chairman, said the JV plans to launch its first plug-in hybrid car by 2025 and will produce batteries and set up charging infrastructure across India.

SAIC Motor, which owns MG Motor, and JSW announced the JV in December last year, with the Indian group holding a 35% stake. The companies said on Wednesday that financial institutions, car dealerships and employees will also have stakes in the JV which will take the total ownership by Indian entities to 51%.

Chinese carmaker SAIC has struggled to grow its presence in India as New Delhi sought to limit investments from Beijing, leaving investment proposals worth $2 billion in limbo.

Rajeev Chaba, MG Motor India's CEO emeritus, said that the two firms would inject a total of 50 billion rupees ($602 million) into the JV.

Meanwhile, Jindal said he hoped the JV will transform India's EV sector in a similar way to Maruti Suzuki disrupting its automotive market 40 years ago.

The partnership will help raise MG Motor's annual production capacity from 100,000 to 300,000 units at its Gujarat unit, the companies said in a statement, without specifying a timeline.

India's EV landscape shifted last week as the country cut import taxes on some EVs for some carmakers, marking a big win for Tesla. Analysts said the impact on sales for Indian players could be limited to manufacturers of pricier vehicles.

EVs made up about 2% of total car sales in India in 2023, with the government targeting 30% by 2030.

MG Motor already makes two electric models in India, the small Comet EV and an SUV called the ZS EV.

JSW's other companies include India's largest steelmaker by capacity JSW Steel among others in various sectors. ($1 = 83.0700 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Dhwani Pandya, Varun Vyas and Aditi Shah; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Gerry Doyle and Alexander Smith)