Dr.

Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University

MBA PROGRAMME
CASE STUDY

International Marketing: Case No. 3

MG Motor India

Introduction

MG Motor UK Limited (MG Motor) is a British automotive company headquartered in

Longbridge, Birmingham, England and a subsidiary of SAIC Motor UK, which in turn is
owned by the Shanghai-based Chinese state-owned automotive SAIC Motor. MG Motor
designs, develops and markets cars sold under the MG marque. MG Motor is the largest
importer of Chinese made cars into the United Kingdom. The marque returned to
competitive motorsport in 2012, and won the 2014 British Touring Car Manufacturers
Championship.

Development

MG vehicles are designed between the Longbridge and Shanghai facilities in the United
Kingdom and China, respectively, and are then manufactured in China.

Longbridge has been retained and Research and Development is currently undertaken at
the Longbridge Facility, with Longbridge being home to SMTC, which has significant
design and engineering input into SAIC products.

In 2018, SAIC Design who is responsible for MG and Roewe's design, opened an
Advanced Design Studio in Central London. The studio is based in a newly-renovated
building in the heart of London on the Marylebone Road. The new creative space is SAIC
first facility, to specialize in Advanced Digital Design Technology, and will work in
conjunction with the automotive manufacturer's other studios to support future product
designs for brands including MG and Roewe. Advanced London is the second SAIC
Motor design studio to be established in Europe, following the studio in Longbridge,
which opened in 2011. The London Design Studio will focus more on advanced design
research projects and creative exploration of conceptual ideas. London makes use of
advanced virtual reality technology to design vehicles, which allows for the designers to
fully immerse themselves into the design concepts, greatly improving the level of detail
at which ideas can be reviewed before they are turned into more costly physical models.
Using state-of-the-art functions such as this will allow Advanced London to explore
innovative design concepts, broadening design possibilities." Advanced London is
managed by SAIC Design European Advanced Design Director, Carl Gotham.

MG Motors in India

MG Motor India is the Indian subsidiary of Chinese automotive giant SAIC Motor
Corporation Limited. The subsidiary was setup in the year 2017. It took over the

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manufacturing facility from General Motors at Halol in India in 2017. The company has
made an investment of ₹22oo crores (US$320 million) in revamping the 178 acre Halol
manufacturing facility. MG has installed an all-new assembly line, a press shop, a body
shop, a parts distribution centre, a testing track and a new state-of-the-art training facility
in the plant – all within a span of 18 months. The plant also has a captive vendor park to
facilitate aggressive localization for all MG vehicles in India. The plant has a capacity of
80,000 units per year

However, it only began its sales & manufacturing operations in 2019. MG Motor India
currently has a network of over 65 showrooms across 50 cities in the country.

MG Hector

In India, the Baojun 530 was marketed as the MG Hector as SAIC's first model in India.
MG Hector sports a honeycomb grille, dual-projector LED headlight, rear LED lights,
chrome finish elements in some exterior parts instead of a matte silver finish, and a tail-
lamp extension garnish.

The Hector is equipped with a 10.4" head unit with more features than Almaz such as a e-
SIM support, navigation system, extensive smartphone integration such as car
functionality remote control including remote engine start, Apple CarPlay and Android
Auto support, Gaana music streaming service support, and over-the-air (OTA) software
update all dubbed as the iSMART technology. As the result, all MG Hector (except the
Style variant) gained an 'Internet Inside' branding emblem.

The Hector is available in four trim levels: Style, Super, Smart and Sharp, and available in
three different engine options: 1.5 L petrol turbo, 1.5 L petrol turbo with mild hybrid
technology, and a 2.0 L turbodiesel sourced from FCA India Automobiles (Fiat).

It received 21,000 bookings only 23 days after launch. In July 18, 2019, MG Motor India
stopped taking bookings for the Hector, citing limited production capacity.

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In March 2019, MG Motor India appointed British actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, as the
brand ambassador of the company. The company made its Indian adverting debut with its
advertisement for the MG Hector SUV, which carried the tagline, "India's first internet
SUV". The promotional videos for MG Hector was filmed in London, United Kingdom,
featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as the MG Motor brand ambassador

Questions:
1. Elaborate the factors that led MG Hector to enter into the crowded Indian SUV market.
2. Which of Keegan’s five major product-communication strategies is the company
using? Evaluate whether it is the right strategy.
3. Discuss the marketing strategy of MG Hector - which positioning are they using –
Global, Foreign, or Local?
4. Evaluate if it would have been better to use Ranveer Singh or Virat Kohli as brand
ambassador? Analyze the pros and con.
5. Explain which segment the company is trying to tap? Who are the competitors? Assess
whether it is correct in its choices.

MG Hector Advertisements:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2QJGXg78RI

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AijyBbpWuAM

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya2a2wo-8Bw

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