New Delhi: MG Motor India on Thursday unveiled its premium SUV Gloster, which is equipped with the first level of autonomous driving feature as the company looks to be among the frontrunners in India in the connected, autonomous, shared and electric (CASE) segment.
The company has opened pre-bookings for the vehicle, which will be launched in the market in October when its full prices will also be announced. Customers can pre-book with a down payment of Rs 1 lakh at the company's dealerships or online.
"When you talk about the future of automobiles - CASE, three out of those four we have already launched products (in India)... We want to be the frontrunners of CASE in India and that's what we are showcasing the technology," MG Motor India President and CEO Rajeev Chaba told PTI.
The company has already launched the connected SUV Hector, and electric vehicle ZS EV and Gloster SUV will be at the start of autonomous driving, he added.
"In the shared mobility, we have signed with Myles and Zoom in India and we are trying to give different subscription and ownership models," Chaba said.
Commenting on the launch plans for the GLoster, he said, "We are opening the pre-bookings today (on Thursday) and announcing the pricing in the next two weeks, and deliveries will start during the Navratra time next month."
Chaba added that the company will start deliveries to customers round October 20.
The Gloster is expected to compete with the likes of Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour, which are priced between Rs 29.99 lakh and Rs 36.88 lakh.
On the sales expectations of Gloster, Chaba said, "Our sales target is not a huge target. It is like 6,000 units per annum or 500 cars a month. Pricing will be based on all these factors."
The Gloster is powered by a 2-litre turbo diesel engine delivering power of 218 ps.
It is equipped with features such as advanced driver assistance system, adaptive cruise control, front collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot detection and automatic parking assistant, which help driver of the vehicle during the driving journey.
Chaba said the Gloster has the first level of autonomous driving, Level-1, with Level-5 being a fully autonomous vehicle.
"This is the beginning of MG's journey in autonomous vehicles... We are beginning a new chapter in India's auto sector today with the launch of its first autonomous (Level 1) premium SUV," he said.
Chaba added that there are multiple scenarios wherein Gloster can sense and make decisions to improve your overall driving experience with ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) technology.
The MG Gloster also has MG i-SMART technology that includes features such as critical tyre pressure voice alert, Shortpedia App that gives short news summaries in English and Hindi, and anti-theft immobilisation via smartphone that remotely halts the engine ignition.
The premium SUV also has features like on-demand four-wheel drive and roll-over mitigation.
"It comes with 3D maps from MapMyIndia, which includes COVID-19 testing centre locations in maps apart from various alerts like potholes and speed alerts," the company said.
In addition to these, Gloster customers will also get Apple Watch Connectivity and can operate their Gaana app with voice control, alongside personalised welcome and greeting messages, it added.
Chaba said, "The Gloster is also produced at our Halol plant. This is the third product from MG, after the Hector and the ZS EV, which all are produced at Halol plant."