Halol(Gujarat): MG (Morris Garages) Motor India today rolled out the first production version of Hector from its state-of-the-art facility at Halol in Gujarat. Hector, MG’s first car in India, has gone into commercial production after one million kilometres of testing in diverse road and climatic conditions across India. With extensive localisation, more than 300+ India specific changes have been carried out in the MG Hector to suit the customer preferences and road conditions.

MG Motor India will begin shipments of the Hector SUV within the next few weeks to its widespread network of 65 showrooms across 50 cities. The Hector SUV will make its global debut on 15th May and pre-orders will begin in the month of June.

“We are proud to be rolling out the first made in India, feature-rich internet car, the MG Hector, from our all-new assembly line in Gujarat. Adopting the highest quality global manufacturing standards, the Hector has been specially customized to suit Indian customer preferences and road conditions. The MG Hector is poised to become a new benchmark in SUVs,” said Rajeev Chaba, President & Managing Director, MG Motor India.

MG India has so far invested INR 2,200 crores in its Gujarat manufacturing plant to roll out the much-awaited MG Hector. The company has set up new assembly line, new press shop, new body shop, new parts distribution centre, testing track and a state-of-the-art training facility in the plant, within a short span of 18 months. MG’s Halol plant currently has a production capacity of 80,000 units per annum and has the provision to increase the capacity going forward depending upon the requirement. The plant operates conforming to world-class manufacturing standards following production parameters beyond the current norm, with the vehicles undergoing various stringent quality tests. Further underlining its commitment to creating products specifically for India, the carmaker had also set up a captive vendor park at its plant.

The carmaker’s technologically advanced plant in Gujarat deploys advanced robotic spot welding, robotic roller hemming and robotic brazing facilities to achieve superior weld quality and dimensional consistency. The paint shop uses robotic application at all stages of coating to achieve superior paint finish quality and colour harmony. The new assembly line operates with the help of advanced Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) for various assembly processes. A first in industry, touchscreen pads are available at each assembly work station, enabling MG employees to connect and alert the system centrally to avoid errors, following the “first time right build” philosophy.

The MG Hector comes equipped with cutting-edge technology and is designed to deliver best-in-class performance and features. The next-gen iSMART technology promises to deliver safe, connected, and fun experiences to customers as India’s first internet car, with a segment-best 10.4-inch touchscreen. The SUV comes with revolutionary Over the Air (OTA) technology, allowing customers to update software, features, themes, and infotainment content, when the updates are available.

MG Motor India is a future-ready organization that is setting industry benchmarks in terms of young & smart work culture and diversity – female employees already account for 31 percent of the company’s total workforce of 1,000 employees. With a focus on four key organizational pillars – innovation, safety, experiences and diversity; the carmaker has built a strong foundation for its future operations. The company has recently invested INR 150 crore towards the purchase of its brand-new corporate office in Gurgaon.