Kartik...
Ready?
A little nervous, but yeah!
You?
You've got... your list of questions is there, no?
Yeah, I'm solid.
You don't look ready, yaar!
You're underdressed!
That's maybe because you're overdressed!
One more thing...
He's the CEO, not us!
We've to just ask the questions!
Yeah, so...
What will be the first question?
That's gonna matter the most...
Open sesame!
Wait!
We're here to meet Mr Rajeev Chaba...
MD, MG Motor
President!
Yes!
And that too, and MD, yeah!
And with MG, he made a great success story here in India in a very short span of time...
Right? So, there's lots that we can learn...
Yeah, but they also had a lot of money!
Money does not always equal success, especially not in India...
Lots of international players have come to the Indian market with lots of money...
And have not made inroads the way MG has managed to do.
So...
Let's go!
Thank you so much for having us here...
It stands to reason that your time is valuable, of course!
We are already 35 minutes late, by the way...
Yeah...
You start...
Yes, I had the list of questions ready that...
I had...
Yes, of course...
So...
You start!
Ah, okay!
Mr Chaba...
To see how MG has progressed in such a short span...
From a brand that India really did not know and where it is today.
I mean, that can only be called a big success!
How has the journey been in this short span?
It has been quite spectacular and you started it...
We didn't know exactly after two years where we would be...
But actually...
No, it has been accepted pretty well now...
And we have been launching lots of products, and even last year, in COVID...
I think the team did a pretty good job and then we kept launching at the regular interval...
So, overall in terms of acceptance, in terms of the chemistry between the consumers and us...
In terms of employee satisfaction...
Dealer satisfaction with our brand and they're making money out of us...
Customers are happy...
So overall, I think it's pretty good, yeah!
Rajeev sir...
When I met you in China...
It was a long time back, and it was only because you had invited us there...
I remember this sentence which still rings...
The sound of it still rings very loud in my ear...
You had said to all the journalists there...
Give us a chance, because everyone had their apprehensions...
They were very curious about new products...
And you said, 'Give us a chance'...
I think, the success kind of, you know, proves it...
All the rapid growth in one of the most challenging markets of the world...
What is the mindset that is needed for this?
And, what kind of people do you need with you to make this a success story?
Talking is easy...
But, I would say that you need people...
With very very positive thinking...
You know, there have been naysayers and still there are naysayers...
Who can write our obituary at any time!
You know, and I think if we had launched these products in the same way...
Same mainstream way, I think we would not have been successful.
So, I think there was clarity...
On what to do...
Disruption...
And with a new set of people...
So, most of our guys, they're very young people...
They have the desire to succeed...
They have firepower...
And they're positive!
Would you be open to, for example, hiring people like us?
Would you hire me in your company?
Okay, you have a goal, you have a lot of drive!
Yes, we can see that!
I think will, determination...
I think these strong qualities we'll appreciate...
Yes!
Next question...
By the way, one thing on that...
Let me tell you that...
What we try to do in our company now is...
That we don't go by. typically, what experience you've got?
You know, we look for qualities...
We look for behaviour...
And, if you do not have that exact right experience...
I think that's okay!
We spoke of experience...
You are an industry veteran!
Do I look too old?
I mean...
Kartik, can you take this question away from me?
Traditionally you, when launching a product...
??????? a lot slower, ????? cycles, right?
From product launch to the update...
What all went into the car, at one point, we would be discussing and we still do...
About the chassis and the engine but today, it's about connected car technology...
About the screen, about the features...
It's a lot more complicated now...
Yeah, right?
But, we would assume...
That now it would be much easier for you with a...
You started from scratch, built it how you want it...
So, is it actually easier for you?
It's not that way!
I think probably you know it, it's not that easy...
You know, certain things that you just talked about...
Chassis or power, horsepower, litres of engine and space...
And I mean, that's kind of given now, you know, that's the price of entry...
You need to have that right, anyway!
And then on top of it, you're talking about how do you differentiate by...
A different experience like connected car and touchscreen and the features and like, you know...
Till two years back, nobody talked about it, right?
We came, some of the competitors did it, and now it's becoming the cost of entry now...
I think in two-three years time, everybody has to have all these features in the car...
You know, so...
And then we have to keep thinking...
So, how would we be relevant after two years or three years?
So, on that note...
MG came in and introduced connected car tech...
And now with the Gloster, you've got ADAS level one....
Can that be seen as the new normal for MG products in India?
So far, at least...
This is what we have done in the first three products, right?
Connected car, EV and...
I would like to believe and say, argue...
EV, that's the best EV in the country right now...
ZS EV...
And then Gloster is Autonomous level one, as you said...
You know, so I think we need to keep evolving...
And, we need to keep improving, and that's what we intend to do!
???????
So ADAS level one may be on the new ZS petrol?
What's that?
Oh!
MG is traditionally known for small cars...
Fun to drive...
Yes small cars, but in India, MG is coming - one SUV after the other...
And, with terrific value for money - Gloster!
It's only fair to expect then that there will be a sub-four-meter compact SUV...
Can you throw some light on how it will look?
What goes into it? And by when can we have it?
So, we've launched three products...
As you all know...
Hector, ZS EV and Gloster...
Fourth product, we intend to launch this year...
And that should happen in quarter three of this year...
That's all I can tell you right now!
??????
And talking about EVs...
You had also said that the ZS EV would come with a 73 kWh battery pack...
Which would be 500+ kilometres range at some point...
And you know, you're already in a great position where...
I think you know a lot more than me...
73 kWh...
But anyway, I'm impressed by the way...
But yes...
500 kilometres range, we are planning and...
By mid-next year it should happen and that would be fantastic...
I think because based on the current EV what we saw that...
Lots of people are asking and they go from here to Chandigarh and come back?
Some people are making the trip from our from Bombay to Pune and...
??????? and come back...
500 kilometres gives you more flexibility...
And that can be ???????? in that car...
So, that's what forced us to think of what all we can do...
So, that's the part of the evolution...
So, 500 kilometres, that we definitely, we will intend...
We will bring it by mid-next year on the ZS EV.
Wow, that's awesome!
We were on our way here to Delhi, of course...
Via Gujarat, we saw the....
I think what we thought, the MG ZS petrol being tested there...
I will need you to take me there too so that I can also see, I don't know...
Okay, okay.
Okay.
On another note...
I mean, we're still talking about SUVs and...
MG, of course, we said is a brand that's talking about different body styles...
Like hatchbacks and smaller cars...
So, you showed a variety at Auto Expo...
Like you had the MG...
You had the G10, which was an MPV...
You had a sedan with 180 millimetres of ground clearance...
MG RC6, the RC6! Yeah.
So, any development on that?
Because diversifying what MG stands for would, I think, stand to benefit?
I'm sure you'd be happy with the pace, what we are keeping despite the Covid thing...
And we are launching, and even in Hector, by the way...
Like we have just done modular changes, which I think, is more, exactly more than modular, right?
It's a quite good facelift that we have done...
So, I think that's what is keeping us busy right now...
So, for other products all depends on market research, consumer feedback, and things like that...
So, we have not made up our mind on any new launch as of now...
But our hands are full and our team is really busy!
So, this year we should launch one more new vehicle, apart from the facelifts on Hector...
We should have some battery evolution within this year on EV and things like that...
So, you know...
Fantastic!
You spoke of the beautiful updates on the facelift Hector 2021, really!
I personally really like the new grille...
I want to thank all of you because you guys were cribbing about this 18-inch wheel on Hector...
And lots of you talked about it, wrote about it...
And so so...
Thanks to, I think, you guys!
We got an 18-inch wheel, apart from many other things...
It also now gets Hinglish voice commands...
Was that your idea?
And because it's a brilliant idea, and simply said, it works!
So, tell us...
It's not my idea.
It's the team's idea...
And some people in our team, and thanks to again...
Different kind of people in our team...
Diversity, right?
Young people, different people...
You know, so those guys toyed with this idea...
We all loved it and then we requested and got it done.
So again, that's a part of the evolution on this voice thing and...
And I think it's interesting, isn't it?
It's very interesting.
I also saw one of the ads that you have released...
Where they are talking about a Bollywood song...
You know, if you have got Gaana streaming in the car...
And then, I think you can say...
And we are still trying, but you can say 'Kishore Kumar's songs'...
So, it will play Kishore Kumar's songs...
English music, I think it plays flawlessly...
With Hindi names, we have still got some issues,
You know, but I think we're working on that...
And today, talking about all these things...
When somebody like, let's say, I at one time wanted to work with an automobile company as well...
And I never got an opportunity...
But the point is, back then you would say...
You had to be a mechanical engineer or an engineer of some sort, right?
Today...
Do you need to be more of a software guy to get all these ideas flowing?
Actually, I won't say software guy...
But you need to have that bank...
Youngsters by the way, like 21, 22, 23 years old...
Even if they're from a mechanical engineering background or any other engineering background or even MBAs...
They are much more friendly with gadgets and those guys are doing a lot in our company right now...
Because...
Working on connected car and working on EVs is much more like natural to them...
Than some of the oldies in the company...
So Rajeev sir, this is just my card and you may take it later but I think all the qualities you described right now...
Are not on the card but in me...
But...
So, we do a test also for all the people who join us...
It's called Speed test - S P E E D.
Which is the cultural values...
S stand for start-up culture...
P is passion...
E is ability to execute...
Another E is easy to manage...
And D is diversity.
Right...
So, all the people coming to MG India have to write this test...
So, we'll let you go through the test...
SPEED test, and if you pass, that's good!
Yeah!
It's a nice name to the test, by the way.
Right, yeah!
One thing about MG for me personally...
Has been ever since you have made your foray...
I mean, just what? Two years ago that we saw the Hector...
Then you pioneered the usage of electric vehicles...
You have created so much awareness about electric vehicles...
You created so much content...
You're continuously educating your audience...
You're also partnering with multiple infrastructure vendors...
So, charging stations...
What's your take on this?
And do you see it all coming together then? When partnering with so many other...
So actually, you know...
That's a good I'm serious question...
I think our viewers also, and all your viewers probably, need to know this...
You know that it's better to find synergies...
And find like-minded partners because alone you cannot fight now...
This kind of a battle in automotive because...
Automotive, globally if you see it, you know, it's evolving so fast that...
Number one, you may not know everything yourself...
Number two, you may not have all the resources and more the merrier here...
So the art of collaboration, I think, is very important in leadership...
Or in any, any senior leadership need to know how to work with others.
So, as an example in the connected car and in EV...
Both these spaces, without partners, you gonna do it...
And who are these partners?
These are content creators.
These are infrastructure providers.
These are service providers and all kinds of different people with whom you have never worked...
So, as an example, Microsoft is our cloud partner...
We need to work with Microsoft then...
Now, when we are seeing Gaana for like songs...
We are working with Gaana, which is a very different kind of a company.
You know, and we are working with Airtel, Why?
Because their SIM card is in the car.
You know, and we are going to work with Jio also...
Because Jio also is going to produce cards...
Now, you're working with all the different kind of companies where we thought earlier...
That you don't have anything to do with these kind of companies.
Right?
So, telecom companies, infrastructure companies, they're like, as an example like...
You know, in EV space we're working with Tata Power...
Now, Tata Power, two-three years back also probably wouldn't have assumed...
That they'll be joining hands with us or vice versa...
But now we have joined hands because they are in the power business...
They're setting up chargers and they see, because we are selling volume...
So, they can see some joint locations where like we can make good business on the charging side.
So, Tata Power and us, we've joined...
Likewise, there are many companies who are doing the upper mining of batteries...
Because these batteries can, you know, you can mine the metals from these batteries...
We are talking about the life cycle of battery management..
So, we are talking to a tower company...
Now, this Indus Tower is an example or some companies who are using these batteries...
You know, they can use used batteries, and they can use it for tower purposes...
We have to work with all kinds of companies...
So, the message here is...
That we need people who are good in dealing with outsiders...
Others, you know, not only with an automotive company...
So, collaboration is the big key and that's why we've set up this whole ecosystem...
So that, jointly, we can get into this movement.
Right!
Yeah, let's move to the rapid-fire...
This will help us look through you as the managing director...
As the CEO...
A lot of people don't...
Usually assume that CEOs are a different breed...
Which they are, in terms of performance...
But I think it's also important for people to know that how human you are...
Trying to do get to know you!
Yes, let's get to know you now...
We got to know your products, of course...
We didn't get to know the MG ZS as much...
Can you do it fast?
Yeah...
Looks or performance?
Both!
That's a CEO answer, right?
I want both!
Okay, sure...
If that is a CEO answer typically...
Then I believe in that...
There's nothing like this or that, it's both!
Generally!
Books or movies?
Books!
And it is actually both!
Actually both...
That's not a CEO answer, typically, I like both!
Okay...
Favoutire book or a favourite movie?
Movie - 3 Idiots, Lagaan...
I'm an Aamir Khan fan, right?
And...
Books...
???? I'm reading ???? Zakaria...
But, Trailblazer I read a few months back...
And again, that was pretty good and Tipping Point...
Tipping point was a good book...
Born to Run...
Lots of books but, yeah!
MG Roadster or MG Hector?
You are asking me what would I like or...
Which would you prefer to drive?
Roadster...
Roadster!
Sachin or Sehwag?
Sehwag!
Kartik or Rohan?
Both!
We're out of our rapid-fire questions...
Rajeev sir, before we tell you that you are an inspiration to our auto industry...
I want to ask you who's your inspiration?
In the industry...
There was a guy, there is a guy, sorry!
Who's 82-83-year-old called Bob Lutz.
You know, I was ???? for many years...
And Bob Lutz, like, at that moment when I last met him...
He was 82-83, which was a few years back...
You know, so a man like...
He knows the automotive in and out...
Solid expertise on the design side, engineering performance side...
You know, and also knew the business pretty well...
So, business knowledge, design...
He was a combination of everything what you can imagine...
So, Bob Lutz would be my inspiration, inspirational figure...
You know!
??????
You know...
You have created a lot of job opportunities in India...
By coming to India - MG...
It's a different story that I'm asking for one, but I'm not really getting there...
I also like Aamir Khan a whole lot, but...
You are to all those who are looking up to MG and what they're doing...
Creating a success story, and to all those who are looking up to you...
One message if you can deliver...
Be it an enthusiast, your customer, one message...
If you can talk to your customers, this would be a great platform...
We are meeting the leader here...
What would be it?
One message you're saying?
I mean, it could be more but...
As the CEO, I'm sorry, yeah, sure...
More than one is fine!
??????
You know why?
My one big thing which I keep telling everyone is that...
If you face any issue, you face any problem...
If you get into any bad situation, a negative situation...
You know, you have to ask yourself what efforts you are making together to get out of it?
You are just feeling like you're victimized...
Or you're just ????? or you're just cursing your luck...
You know, all those things, you can keep doing it...
But you have to ask yourself what efforts you are making to get out of it...
You know, rest you can leave it to the god, right?
But at least make efforts!
So that's one message I want to give it, whenever you go through any back phase...
I think Kartik really can make use of this advice...
?????
One last question, sir!
One last question about the MG ZS, right?
??????
About the MG ZS...
What's that?
When is it coming and its...
What is that, what?
MG ZS?
At Auto Expo, it was there!
You said that was the last question, right?
Yes.
Okay, yeah! Thank you, guys!
Okay.
Thank you so much.