New Delhi: In an impressive ceremony, Morris Garages (MG) Motor India unveiled the ZS, the electric vehicle from the SAIC stable here on Thursday.
The ZS, India’s first pure electric internet SUV, goes a notch higher towards attaining a cleaner and sustainable future. The ZS comes with a 44.5KWh liquid-cooled nickel manganese cobalt battery and boasts of being able to travel 340 km on a full charge. The SUV delivers 353 Nm of instant torque and 143 PS power, letting the car go from 0-100 kmph in a mere 8.5 seconds.
“As an enabler and catalyst for India’s EV revolution, MG Motor India is creating a strong, end-to-end electric vehicle ecosystem in association with leading players in the sustainable energy domain. A truly global and best-in-class EV SUV, the ZS EV has already registered significant success in more than 10 international markets such as the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia. It has also been extensively tested for India-specific requirements. We’re hopeful that it will recreate its success in India. We will evaluate opportunities to further expand this ecosystem to more markets across India, based on customer response,” said Rajeev Chaba, President & Managing Director, MG Motor India.
Vehicle Charging
Electric vehicles are gaining popularity slowly but the main factor hindering them from becoming a mass favourite is the present infrastructure in the country. MG Motors, with an aim to push the EV, offers a 5-way charging infrastructure.
The ZS comes with an on-board cable to charge the vehicle anywhere and an AC fast charger for charging at homes/offices. They are also setting up a DC Super-Fast charging network at select MG showrooms and plan to create an extended charging network across MG dealerships in select satellite cities.
The 50 kW DC super-fast chargers will charge the ZS upto 80 per cent in just 50 minutes, whereas the AC fast chargers will take approximately 6–8 hours for a full charge. The SUV also provides services, which will help in finding charging stations nearby when the range goes below 50 km.
Notable Features
With shift towards a cleaner and greener future the ultimate goal, MG has given the ZS an inbuilt PM 2.5 filter for the passengers to breathe in clean and pure air. The CO2 Saver feature in the car also displays how much CO2 has been saved by driving the ZS.
Internet EV SUV
Keeping in line with MG Hector, the ZS is India’s first pure electric internet SUV. The next generation iSMART EV 2.0 has an inbuilt embedded SIM providing internet onboard and can also be connected to an external Wi-Fi connection. The feature allows users to connect their cars to their home networks and mobile hotspots.
The car comes with an 8-inch HD infotainment system. ZS also comes with Avira, the AI-based voice assistant to obey your commands. MG Motors India is yet to declare the price of the vehicle but with required infrastructure in place, the car will hopefully disrupt the still-dependent on fuel vehicles.