JSW MG Motor builds on 35% EV share to drive leadership in India’s new energy vehicles market

JSW MG Motor India is spearheading a comprehensive category creation initiative with its “EV Sahi Hai” campaign, positioning itself as a catalyst for electric vehicle adoption across the country. 

The automaker’s latest marketing push represents a strategic departure from product-focused advertising towards nurturing the entire EV ecosystem, drawing inspiration from successful category-building campaigns like AMFI’s mutual funds movement.

Udit Malhotra, head of marketing at JSW MG Motor India, reveals that the campaign stems directly from the company’s MG 2.0 roadmap, which prioritises New Energy Vehicles following the brand’s joint venture with the JSW Group, formed in March 2024.

“Our focus would be on EVs, and we intend to become India’s number one OEM when it comes to new energy vehicles,” Malhotra states, outlining the brand’s ambition to drive share of voice, share of mind, and category leadership.

The campaign draws strategic inspiration from AMFI’s category creation exercise that began in 2007 with Mutual Funds Sahi Hai, which successfully built consumer awareness and trust in the mutual funds category. Malhotra explains that the EV industry currently requires similar category creation, development, and nurturing initiatives to accelerate mainstream adoption.

With approximately 80% of MG’s current portfolio comprising electric vehicles, the brand maintains a commanding 35% market share in India’s EV passenger vehicle segment, establishing its credentials as a category leader driving broader market expansion.

Two-pronged creative strategy tackles consumer barriers

The EV Sahi Hai campaign employs a bifurcated approach addressing distinct consumer touchpoints and concerns. The first phase leverages authentic customer advocacy through “real people, real experiences”, featuring 10 existing MG customers sharing genuine ownership insights across route planning, charging infrastructure, and cost savings benefits.

“We recruited existing EV owners across the country, got them to tell what they have experienced with EVs until now, and got them to tell what money they have saved,” Malhotra explains, emphasising the authenticity-driven approach that builds credibility through customer testimonials rather than manufactured messaging.

The second phase pivots to a humour-led strategy featuring Bollywood actors Pulkit Samrat and Varun Sharma from the popular Fukrey franchise. This phase specifically targets charging infrastructure anxieties through comedic scenarios that demonstrate the ubiquity of charging stations across India, including remote locations such as Goa, Lolpur, Pimple, and Sodargar.

Addressing core consumer apprehensions

Malhotra identifies two primary barriers inhibiting EV adoption in India: initial ownership costs and range anxiety stemming from charging infrastructure concerns. The company addresses these through innovative business models and technological solutions.

For initial ownership costs, MG introduced Battery as a Service (BaaS), making it “India’s first OEM to introduce BaaS.” This model brings EV and ICE ownership costs to parity, with Windsor priced at Rs 9.99 lakhs and consumers paying Rs 3.9 per kilometre on a pay-as-you-go basis. Similarly, the Comet starts at Rs 4.99 lakhs and the ZS EV at Rs 13 lakhs under the BaaS model.

Range anxiety receives multifaceted treatment through infrastructure awareness and technological assurance. The campaign highlights India’s charging infrastructure growth from 6,000 stations in 2023 to over 29,000 charging stations as of August 2025, representing five-fold growth according to PIB data.

Additionally, MG’s proprietary “E-Hub by MG” app has crossed one lakh downloads within a year of launch, offering route planning, charger location services, real-time availability checking, and pre-booking functionality for any EV user, regardless of brand affiliation.

To address battery longevity concerns, MG offers a lifetime warranty for first owners on products like Windsor, ensuring battery coverage regardless of ownership duration. The company also provides a “360 Assured Buyback Plan” guaranteeing 60% vehicle value after three years for customers who opt for the programme at purchase.

The brand positions its vehicles as “true to range”, claiming real-world performance matches advertised specifications, addressing another common consumer concern about EV performance claims versus actual delivery.

Media mix and targeting strategy

The campaign employs a comprehensive media strategy spanning television, digital platforms, radio, and experiential activations. Given EV buyers’ educated, sustainability-focused profiles, the initial targeting focuses on decision-makers whilst expanding reach to homemakers, mothers, children, and Gen Z consumers to drive category expansion.

Creative agency Cheil X, with National Creative Director Amit Nandwani leading the campaign development, partnered with production house Red Comet Films and Collective Artists Network for talent sourcing. The multi-phase approach includes eventual mall activations and festive promotions featuring product displays and myth-busting initiatives at retail touchpoints.

Digital-first approach and performance metrics

As a digital-first brand, MG emphasises TV-plus strategies for incremental reach whilst maintaining digital focus. Malhotra notes that effective digital frequency has increased from six exposures three years ago to 8-12 exposures currently due to content clutter proliferation.

The company prioritises hyper-local performance marketing based on geography, latitude-longitude coordinates, and pin codes for mid-to-bottom funnel initiatives, driving retail attribution through precise targeting strategies.

The campaign extends beyond traditional advertising through the EV Sahi website (evcsahi.com), functioning as a comprehensive knowledge base addressing ownership queries. The platform covers technical aspects from battery functionality to motor operations, trip planning tools, and educational content addressing common misconceptions.

“80, 85%, or 90% of the questions get answered,” Malhotra explains, describing the platform’s comprehensive approach to consumer education. The knowledge base will expand progressively, incorporating AI-driven contextual responses to address evolving consumer queries.

Brand identity evolution within campaign context

Whilst maintaining its British heritage and “humanising tech” brand essence, MG adapts its communication approach specifically for category creation objectives. Unlike previous campaigns featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and emphasising British luxury positioning, “EV Sahi Hai” adopts contextually relevant Indian tonality to maximise reach and relatability.

Malhotra clarifies that this represents a campaign-specific strategic approach rather than a permanent brand pivot: “This strategic approach is specific to this campaign. You may not see Hindi-English or the choice of Indian actors for another campaign, but it is specific to this campaign and the approach or the objective that this campaign intends to deliver.”

Future category outlook and expansion strategy

Looking forward, Malhotra anticipates continued category penetration driven by technological maturation, making affordable EVs more accessible. Government policy support and technological innovations across battery and powertrain development will bolster overall category growth.

The company’s expansion strategy focuses on holistic ecosystem development rather than linear touchpoint expansion, encompassing charging infrastructure development, educational initiatives, and innovative ownership models to drive sustainable category growth.

Through initiatives spanning from the MG Charge, an initiative by MG Motor India launched in 2022 to establish a widespread electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, aiming to install 1,000 AC fast chargers in residential communities and other locations across India within 1,000 days, to community charging initiatives and college-based EV education under “MG Nurture”, the brand positions itself as a category steward committed to long-term market development rather than short-term sales maximisation.

The campaign represents a calculated 360-degree effort expecting short-term benefits within the first year and mid-term impact over three to five years, contingent on sustained category expansion and consumer education initiatives.

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