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By Piyush P. Yadav

JSW MG Motor India reported 7,508 wholesale units in August 2026, up 14 per cent on August 2025, and began dealer dispatches of the Hector Tomahawk EV, its first product on the new ADAPT platform. Registration data for the month show that about four in five cars MG sold were electric, the highest EV mix of any mainstream carmaker in India. Behind those numbers sits a more complicated corporate picture: JSW Group is preparing to increase its stake in the MG joint venture with SAIC, is building its own separately branded car company with technology licensed from Chery, has a plant under construction in Maharashtra, and is targeting 50 GWh of battery-cell capacity by 2030. This report puts the August numbers in context and maps every part of the JSW automotive plan as it stands in September 2026.

August 2026 by the numbers

Metric August 2026 Note
Wholesale units 7,508 Up 14 per cent year on year
EV share of registrations 79.9 per cent Vahan data compiled by EVreporter; highest among volume brands
Rank among electric car brands Third Behind Tata Motors (43 per cent of the market) and Mahindra
Core EV products Windsor EV and Windsor EV Pro, Comet EV, ZS EV Windsor is the volume driver
New in the month Hector Tomahawk EV dispatches; Tomahawk launched 26 August PHEV deliveries from November

Two things stand out. The first is the EV mix. Tata’s electric share of its own sales was 22.7 per cent in August and Mahindra’s was 12.9 per cent, so MG is running a fundamentally different business: an EV company with an ICE sideline in the Hector, Astor and Gloster, rather than the other way round. The second is that 7,508 units is modest in absolute terms. Tata sold around 13,000 electric cars in August alone. MG is the third-largest EV brand by a wide margin over VinFast and Maruti, but it is not close to the top two.

Through the first four months of 2026, MG had sold 19,036 electric cars, a 24.1 per cent share of the market, according to Rushlane’s calendar-year tally. Tata’s share in the same period was 39.9 per cent and Mahindra’s 22.9 per cent. August’s overall market data, which we analysed in our August 2026 electric car sales report, showed Tata pulling further ahead and MG roughly holding its share.

The Hector Tomahawk: MG’s first multi-energy platform

The Hector Tomahawk, launched on 26 August, is the first Indian product on ADAPT, an architecture MG describes as India’s first multi-new-energy platform. The same body accepts a battery-electric drivetrain, a plug-in hybrid, and in future range-extender and mild-hybrid variants. Our launch coverage, MG Hector Tomahawk EV launched at Rs 19.49 lakh with vehicle-to-home charging, has the full specification. The commercial points that matter for the brand:

Variant Full-ownership price Battery-as-a-Service price Rental Deliveries
Hector Tomahawk EV From Rs 19.49 lakh introductory From Rs 13.99 lakh Rs 4.90 per km September 2026, dispatches begun
Hector Tomahawk PHEV From Rs 25.69 lakh introductory From Rs 21.79 lakh Rs 3.20 per km November 2026, test drives from November

The Tomahawk EV gives MG a seven-seat electric SUV below Rs 25 lakh, a space nobody else occupies until Tata’s Safari EV arrives around Diwali. It also extends the battery-subscription model MG pioneered on the Windsor to a larger, more expensive car. MG’s Rs 4.90 per km rental is the highest in the market, above Mahindra’s Rs 3.75 on the BE 6, and reflects the 69 kWh pack. Whether buyers accept a per-kilometre charge at that level on a family SUV will be one of the more interesting tests of the festive season.

What is next from MG: the IM6 and a premium sub-brand

MG has confirmed it will bring the IM6, a premium electric SUV from SAIC’s IM Motors brand, to India around the festive season. Expected pricing is in the region of Rs 60 lakh, positioning it against the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. The IM6 is a 800V-architecture car in its home market with battery options up to 100 kWh and DC charging above 300 kW. It would be sold through MG Select, the brand’s premium retail channel that already handles the Cyberster roadster and the M9 electric MPV.

The Windsor remains the engine of the business. JSW MG has held the Windsor’s introductory pricing structure through 2026, added the Pro variant with the 52.9 kWh pack and 449 km ARAI range, and used the Battery-as-a-Service plan to keep the headline price at Rs 12.49 lakh. Our comparison of electric SUVs between Rs 16 lakh and Rs 25 lakh puts the Windsor Pro against the Creta Electric and e Vitara on price, range and charging.

JSW’s second car company: Chery technology, its own brand, 2027 launch

Separate from the MG joint venture, JSW Group is building a wholly owned car business under the JSW Motors name. In July 2025, Chery Automobile agreed to supply electric powertrains, hybrid systems and intelligent cockpit technology to JSW in exchange for a one-time technology transfer fee and ongoing royalties. There is no equity involved, which keeps the arrangement within India’s Press Note 3 restrictions on Chinese investment in strategic sectors. Key elements as reported:

  • Plant: a greenfield facility at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra, initially for local assembly, with production targeted to begin in 2027.
  • First product: a plug-in hybrid SUV based on Chery’s Jetour T2, reported to be targeting a launch before Diwali 2026 in assembled form, with a claimed combined petrol-plus-electric range of about 1,200 km.
  • Electric SUV: a boxy, rugged model derived from Chery’s iCar V23, expected in 2027 in the Rs 30 to 40 lakh band with a claimed range above 400 km.
  • Commercial vehicles: JSW has said it plans electric trucks and buses as well, though no product has been shown.

The relationship between the two JSW car businesses is deliberately arm’s length. JSW MG Motor India continues to sell SAIC-developed MG products; JSW Motors will sell Chery-derived products under its own badge. Parth Jindal, a director at JSW MG Motor, has said JSW intends to increase its stake in the MG joint venture by buying more of SAIC’s holding. JSW currently holds 35 per cent directly, with Indian financial institutions and dealers taking the joint venture’s Indian ownership above 50 per cent.

Batteries: 10 GWh by 2026, 50 GWh by 2030

JSW Group has stated a target of 10 GWh of battery-cell manufacturing capacity by 2026, scaling to 50 GWh between 2028 and 2030. The first phase is intended to supply both the MG joint venture and the JSW-branded cars, with stationary storage as a second market. As of September 2026 no JSW cell line is in commercial production; the group is behind Ola, Exide and Reliance, all of which have cells coming off pilot or early commercial lines, as we tracked in India’s lithium cell manufacturing scorecard. The Windsor and Comet currently use imported LFP cells packed in India.

Where JSW MG stands against the field

Brand Electric cars, Jan to Apr 2026 Share EV share of own August sales Strategy in one line
Tata Motors 31,604 39.9% 22.7% Volume leader, six EV nameplates, Safari EV due at Diwali
Mahindra 18,153 22.9% 12.9% Premium INGLO SUVs, BE 6 Sporteq series, BaaS
JSW MG Motor 19,036 24.1% 79.9% EV-first brand, BaaS pioneer, ADAPT multi-energy platform, IM6 premium push
VinFast 2,840 3.6% 100% Thoothukudi plant, VF6 and VF7
Maruti Suzuki 2,667 3.4% 0.9% e Vitara, export-led

Set against the plans of its rivals, which we have profiled brand by brand in reports such as Hyundai’s Rs 45,000 crore India plan and Mahindra’s electric portfolio deep dive, JSW’s approach is unusual in running two badges with two technology partners. The upside is optionality: if the MG-SAIC relationship becomes politically difficult, JSW has a second pipeline. The risk is dilution: two dealer networks, two engineering teams and two brand budgets for a group that sold fewer than 8,000 cars a month in August.

What to watch through December

  • Tomahawk EV delivery volumes in September and October, which will show whether a seven-seat EV at Rs 19.49 lakh can add meaningfully to Windsor-led volumes.
  • IM6 pricing at its festive-season launch, and whether MG Select can sell a Rs 60 lakh Chinese-brand EV in a market where the Tesla Model Y has struggled on price.
  • JSW Motors’ first showing, whether a Jetour-based PHEV actually appears before Diwali, and the status of the Sambhajinagar plant.
  • The SAIC stake transaction, which JSW has flagged but not closed.
  • Cell capacity, where the stated 10 GWh by 2026 target has under four months to run.

Sources & Further Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cars did JSW MG Motor India sell in August 2026?

JSW MG Motor India reported 7,508 wholesale units in August 2026, a 14 per cent increase over August 2025. Registration data show that about 79.9 per cent of MG’s sales in the month were electric vehicles, the highest EV share of any volume carmaker in India.

When will the MG Hector Tomahawk EV be delivered?

Dealer dispatches of the Hector Tomahawk EV began in late August and customer deliveries start in September 2026. The plug-in hybrid Hector Tomahawk PHEV will begin test drives and deliveries in November 2026.

What is JSW Motors and how is it different from MG?

JSW Motors is a wholly owned JSW Group car company that will sell vehicles under its own brand using technology licensed from China’s Chery. It is separate from JSW MG Motor India, the joint venture with SAIC that sells MG cars. JSW Motors plans to start production at a new plant in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, in 2027, with a Jetour-based plug-in hybrid SUV first and an iCar-derived electric SUV after.

Is MG launching the IM6 in India?

MG has indicated the IM6 premium electric SUV will arrive around the 2026 festive season, sold through the MG Select channel at an expected price of about Rs 60 lakh. It would compete with the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.