JSW-MG have set the cat amongst the pigeons with a stunning 9.99 lakh rupee starting price for the Windsor electric crossover utility vehicle (CUV). But how did they manage to price the Windsor so keenly? Picture this. The MG Comet EV’s top-end trim is priced at Rs. 9.53 lakh, just Rs. 45,000 cheaper than the much larger Windsor’s base trim. So what gives? Enter BAAS or Battery-As-A-Service.
Wait, what’s BAAS?
As its name suggests, BAAS or Battery As A Service is a program where you rent the battery at a fixed price per kilometer rather than buying it. JSW-MG are offering the Windsor’s 38 kWH battery pack at Rs. 3.5 per kilometer.
How does this work?
Well, to illustrate, let’s assume that you drive 1,000 kilometers a month, you’ll have to pay JSW-MG Rs. 3,500 as battery rental cost, which is calculated per kilometer: Rs. 3.5 times 1,000 kilometers in this case. If you drive say 1,500 kilometers, you’ll pay Rs. 5,250 (Rs. 3.5 times 1,500 Kms).
It’s prepaid, and just like refueling your petrol car!
Like you would recharge a prepaid mobile number, you have to buy a battery recharge pack from JSW-MG. The minimum recharge packs stands at 1,500 kilometers, and unlike prepaid mobile numbers, this recharge pack does not have an expiry date. You can use it as per your convenience. Now, that’s a relief. So, you essentially spend Rs. 5,250 to buy the 1,500 Km battery pack for the MG Windsor, and you get to drive a distance of 1,500 Kms, after which you’ll have to opt for another battery pack. It’s just refueling your petrol car once a month or say 15 days.
But charging is still extra!
For the first one year of the Windsor EV’s ownership, you can recharge for free at JSW-MG Motor charging stations. Post that though, you’ll have to pay per unit of electricity consumed at JSW-MG Motor charging stations. However, recharging your Windsor EV at home would result in electricity bills right from the beginning.
Now, let’s calculate.
Assume that you drive a distance of 1500 kilometers per month and recharge your Windsor at your household’s 16 AMP electricity socket. You will have to 1. Buy a battery pack from JSW-MG and 2. Pay for the electricity consumed.
On average, cost of electricity across most Indian cities comes to about Rs. 1 per kilometer on an electric car. So, driving for 1,500 Kms means you’ll spend Rs. 1,500 on electricity cost. Battery rental cost for 1,500 Kms means you’ll have to spend around Rs. 5,250 for the 1,500 Kms battery rental pack. Running cost for your Windsor electric crossover utility vehicle, excluding maintenance cost, would be about Rs. 6,750 (Rs. 1,500 + Rs. 5,250).
It’s still cheaper than driving a petrol car.
Let’s consider an example.
Assume that the on-road price of a base-trim MG Windsor EV in Mumbai is about Rs. 11 lakh. Assume that you take a 10 lakh rupee loan to fund this purchase. Your monthly EMI would be Rs. 22,244 considering a 5 year loan at a 12 % interest rate. Your battery EMI (battery rental recharge) would be about Rs. 5,250 and your electricity cost (considering monthly running of 1,500 Kms) would be Rs. 1,500. In total, you’d be paying about Rs. 29,000 per month to own and run the MG Windsor EV.
On the other hand, let’s look at a similarly priced crossover in the Indian car market – the Maruti Suzuki Fronx. The Fronx’s Delta Plus (O) AMT is priced at Rs. 11.02 lakh, on-road Mumbai. Loan EMI cost would be more or less same. We’re considering a Fronx AMT here because the Windsor is a single speed automatic. Now, the Fronx AMT delivers a mixed (highway plus city) fuel efficiency of around 15 Kmpl considering 70 % city use and 30 % highway use.
So, for 1,500 kilometers per month, you’d average around 100 liters of petrol, which brings the overall cost of fuel in Mumbai for your Fronx at Rs. 10,344 (considering September 11th petrol prices at Rs. 103.44 per liter). We’re not even factoring in maintenance cost here, which for a petrol car, is significantly higher than for an electric car. So, you’ll be paying about Rs. 32,500 rupees per month to own and run the Maruti Fronx AGS Delta Plus (O) trim.
By opting for the MG Windsor EV, you get
- A much larger car with a hefty 2,700 mm wheelbase.
- Quiet and peppy performance with 200 Nm of instant torque, and a peak power of 133 Bhp from the electric motor.
- Really spacious interiors for 5 adults given the fact that the MG Windsor is a born-electric car with the battery integrated into the floorboard.
- A really sturdy build quality. First impressions suggest that the Windsor’s sheer heft would beat that of even Volkswagens’. It feels really sturdy, and the ground clearance of 186 mm is quite ample.
- Jerk free performance from the single speed automatic gearbox
- A cavernous 604 liter boot.
- A real world range of about 250 kilometers.
All in all, it’s no contest really. For a lower monthly ownership cost, you get a much larger car. JSW-MG Motor have hit it out of the park with the Windsor EV’s value proposition, and this is exactly why we think that BAAS could be a game-changer for the Indian electric vehicle market.
What happens to the Windsor’s battery as it gets older?
JSW-MG Motor, at today’s launch, stated that they’ll buy back the Windsor from the first owner at 60 % of its original price after 3 years should the owner want to exercise that option. Also, JSW-Motor offer a lifetime battery warranty on the Windsor’s 38 kWH prismatic cell based LPF battery pack. So, when you use BAAS, you simply needn’t worry about the battery conking off on you. JSW-MG Motor have you covered.
However, if you do sell your MG Windsor EV, the second and subsequent owners stand to get only an 8 year/160,000 Kms warranty on the battery. The lifetime battery warranty is applicable only to the first owner.
Expect more electric vehicle makers to jump to the BAAS bandwagon
Now that JSW-MG Motor have offered BAAS, achieving a semblance of price parity with petrol cars, more electric car makers in India such as Tata Motors and Mahindra could take a leaf out of the Windsor’s playbook and launch BAAS for their own offerings. Tata Motors, being the market leader in the electric car space, is expected to come up with a compelling BAAS plan in the coming months. God bless competition!
