Bookings for MG Hector to be discontinued

MG launched the Hector last month in India and the SUV has turned out to be a big hit for the company. So much so that now, MG Motors has decided to stop taking bookings of the Hector till further notice. The decision has been taken as the manufacturer received over 21,000 bookings since the SUV was launched which is much more than what the manufacturing plant is capable of producing right now. MG Motors currently has a production capacity of around 2,000 units a month but seeing the immense demand, the production capacity will be ramped up soon.

A press statement released by MG India read:

“After receiving an overwhelming response for the HECTOR, MG Motor India today announced that it has taken a decision to halt the bookings temporarily keeping in mind the company’s commitment to customer satisfaction. MG India plans to cater to the increasing demand by raising the production capacity for the HECTOR gradually over the next few months.”

Prices for the MG Hector start at Rs 12.18 lakh, which makes it highly competitive in the segment. The top-end version of the car is priced at Rs 16.88 lakh. In some parts of the country, the waiting period for the MG Hector is pegged at around 7 months. Most of this can be attributed to the low production capacity of the MG plant since the manufacturer probably didn’t expect such a windfall of bookings, India being a vastly unpredictable market. Speaking on the same, Rajeev Chaba, President & MD, MG Motor India said:

“Our first product, MG HECTOR, has received an overwhelming response and we are unable to cater to such high initial demand. We are therefore closing bookings temporarily as this will help ensure timely and orderly deliveries for our customers who have shown tremendous confidence in MG. We are also working with our component suppliers to ramp up production in a gradual manner without any compromise on quality,”

As of now, there is no word as to when will the bookings be reopened. But going by the number of current bookings and waiting periods, it is safe to say that the brand will focus on production and deliveries in the coming months and hence booking would commence only a few months later. To let you know, out of the total bookings of the MG Hector, 50% of the customers have booked the petrol versions of the Hector. Moreover, out of these 50% petrol buyers, 70% of customers choose the Dual-Clutch Transmission, which is the only automatic version available with the car.

Talking about the engine options on the Hector, the Tata Harrier rival gets both petrol and diesel engine options along with a Hybrid powertrain. The petrol engine is a 1.4-litre turbocharged unit that generates a maximum power of 143 PS and 250 Nm of peak torque. It gets a choice of a dual-clutch automatic transmission and manual transmission. The diesel engine in the Hector is a Fiat-sourced 2.0-litre unit that produces a maximum of 170 PS and peak torque of 350 Nm. The diesel variants only get a 6-speed manual transmission.

MG Motors also offers a 48V mild-hybrid technology with the petrol engine option. It adds another 20Nm to the overall power but it is only available with a 6-speed manual transmission. Another noteworthy point here is that MG offers a 5 year/unlimited mileage warranty along with 5 years of free labour charges during the services and Road Side Assistance for free. This is something that has never been seen on a car at this price point and definitely adds value to the vehicle in the eyes of the buyers.