Morris Garages Motor (MG Motor) – a British automotive brand that was lost in the history books but was found and brought back to life by SAIC (formally known as Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation). And, if you have been following the Indian auto scene closely, you would know by now that MG Motor has been busy setting up shop in India. We can now confirm that the first product from the Chinese-owned British brand for India will be an SUV and it will launch by June 2019.

An SUV? What Kind?

A quick chat with MG Motor India’s regional sales head revealed that the SUV (still unnamed) would compete with the likes of the Jeep Compass, Hyundai Tucson and the upcoming Tata Harrier. Of course, this isn’t something new. MG Motor revealed this and a lot more about its plans in October last year. In terms of size, however, it will be bigger than the Compass, slightly smaller than the XUV500 and will have a 5-seat configuration.

What will be under the hood?

A choice of petrol and diesel engines. That sentence might sound uninteresting to many, but it does say something important. In several markets around the globe, including China and the UK, MG Motor doesn’t have a diesel engine on offer in any of its products. For India, however, the company will borrow one from Fiat. Which one? The 2.0-litre mill which currently does duty in the Jeep Compass and will also find its place, albeit in a different tune, under the bonnet of the Tata Harrier.

As for the petrol engines, MG Motor will bring its own in India. There are several to choose from – 1.0-litre, 1.4-litre, 1.5-litre, 1.8-litre and a 2.0-litre. All are turbocharged. The list of transmission options is expected to include a 5-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic. For the Compass-rival, MG Motor is likely to use the 1.5-litre mill as it can be tuned to produce a maximum power of up to 169PS and a peak torque of 250Nm. Those figures should be the SUV right in the mix.

Feature-loaded?

You bet! Apart from features like multi-zone automatic climate control, a sunroof, electrically adjustable seats and OVRMs, auto headlamps, wipers and IRVM, a large touchscreen infotainment system and support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, the SUV is also expected to bring some segment-first features such as a fully digital instrument cluster and auto emergency braking.

Plans?

We know that an electric SUV is coming by mid-2020. That is expected to have a range of over 300km on a single charge. After that, MG Motor India will introduce another, conventionally-powered SUV and that should be amongst us before we switch over to the 2021 calendar. That, in all probability, will be a bit smaller in size and will compete with the likes of the Renault Captur, Hyundai Creta and the upcoming Nissan Kicks.