SAIC Will Use Former GM Plant to Make MG Vehicles in India

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. will build MG-branded vehicles in India at a former General Motors Co. factory in Gujarat.

Last week SAIC completed its acquisition of GM’s Halol factory and its 170-acre site for $305 million. The company had been evaluating the deal since April. It announced in June that it intended to open its first assembly plant in India but offered few specifics.

The Chinese company’s MG Motor India subsidiary will prepare the facility to launch production in 2019 of as many as 80,000-85,000 vehicles per year. Output could later be doubled if demand is sufficient.

Product plans are still being finalized, but the factory’s first model is expected to be a premier SUV/crossover. SAIC, which acquired the iconic MG British brand in 2007, currently makes the MG3 supermini and MG GS crossover—its first SUV ever—for the Chinese and European markets.

MG Motor India will engineer the vehicles it makes to suit Indian driving conditions and government regulations. The unit has hired 70 people to date and will likely recruit 1,500 more over the next three years.