MG ZS EV Is India's Latest Potent Electric Car But Does It Address The EV Issues?

Another potent electric car has just made its way to the Indian market. This time, it is Morris Garages that has introduced their electric vehicle - MG ZS EV. As the name suggests, ZS EV is the electric iteration of MG ZS SUV and is sold in 10 countries as of now. With its entry in India, the electric car will compete with Hyundai Kona in its segment.

MG Motors India has been marketing about the ZS EV with an agenda of propagating a sustainable mode of transportation. The company roped in British actor Benedict Cumberbatch for the same and came up with a #ChangeWhatYouCan campaign that urged the vehicle buyers in India to opt for electric vehicles instead of the IC engine ones. It essentially aims to promote the environmental benefits of using an electric vehicle in place of an IC engine one.

What about its range?

But before the campaign can yield any result, the car has to be potent enough in a country like India for a considerably long distance drive. For this, MG Motors India has used a 44.5 kW battery on the ZS EV and with that, it claims a range of 340 km for the electric car in the real world scenario on a single charge. Interestingly, MG Motors has come up with its own battery for the vehicle and claims to be the only automobile OEM in the world apart from Tesla to do so. The car itself will be built in the company's Halol plant in Gujarat.

The charging issue?

MG Motor India has also worked towards setting an appropriate charging network for the buyers of ZS electric. The company has followed a five point scheme for the same. This involves an on-board 7.4 kW charger, an AC charger for home or office charging, DC super fast chargers setup at select MG dealerships, an extended charging network across satellite towns as well as charging on the go. MG ZS electric users can look for the nearest charging station through the MG iSmart App on their mobile or the in-car console.

A future proof initiative by MG Motor India

In addition to the charging network, MG Motor India will be running a 'second life battery' program for the batteries used in its ZS electric units. The program works towards reusing the old batteries of these electric cars, For this, the company has tied up with Exicom. The second life battery program will include battery pack disassembly, recycling of the parts that can¡¯t be applied, testing of modules for capacity as well as ensuring state of health of these batteries across use cases.

In essence, these batteries will be used in solar energy plants setup by Exicom to store the solar energy. So as and when an MG electric vehicle in the future will be charged through an Exicom network, the energy stored in the second life batteries will be transferred to the new battery inside the car.

The MG ZS Electric at a glance

As for the electric car itself, the ZS electric has been promised to deliver 143 PS power that will be enough for an acceleration of 0 to 100 in 8.5 seconds. The company has used a ¡°Skyroof¡± on the ZS electric that covers 90% area of the roof. In addition, features like iSmart internet system and a PM2.5 air filter are also equipped in the vehicle.

Interestingly, MG Motor India claims that the operational cost of the ZS electric will be less than 10% as compared to a normal petrol engine in its segment. The company plans to start selling the ZS electric in 5 cities for now, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

MG Motor India has promised that the ZS electric will be the first in a series of other EVs to be brought to the country, which will be revealed in the Auto Expo 2020. Price and other details of the ZS electric are also expected to be revealed at the same event.