Senior executives of JSW MG Motor likely to exit

Almost a year after JSW Group forged a joint venture with SAIC-owned MG Motor India, JSW MG Motor India’s current management is set to see a major churn in the coming months..

An email sent to the company remained unanswered until the press time.

Several of its senior executives are set to leave the company, said multiple people aware of the development.


The key executives likely to move on include Satinder Singh Bajwa-- chief commercial officer and Sumit Gera—head of network planning and expansion.

Gaurav Gupta, the company' chief growth officer is also believed to be moving on, said people aware of the movements. Gupta is also spearheading the MG Select strategy -- a new sales channel for the brand’s upcoming premium vehicle range.

Most of these executives are likely to leave the company by the end of the current financial year.

Meanwhile, with Rajiv Chaba, CEO—emeritus, MG Motor India, scheduled to superannuate in March 2025, the manufacturer of Hector and Comet models, has been on a look out for a CEO to fill his position. An annoucement is likely to be made before the end of the fiscal.

Instrumental in setting up the India subsidiary and getting JSW on-board, Chaba is looking to pursue personal interests outside the auto industry. He is likely to continue in an advisory role, said people aware of the development.

“There isn’t a common reason that cuts across these departures and most
of them have their own personal reasons” to move on, said a person familiar with the developments.

Bajwa, who joined the company as recently as January 2024 from Mahindra & Mahindra, is moving on due to his “personal priorities,” said the person cited above. Gera is keen to start his own
business, the person added. However, many see these exits as an outcome of the change in the company’s ownership given its timing.

The new entity JSW MG Motor India completes a year of operation next month.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on January 23, 2024, approved JSW Ventures Singapore's acquisition of up to 38% of MG Motor India. Following the move, MG Motor India has become an Indian entity, instead of a Chinese one, with an eventual India listing in the next.

To be sure, the exits come at a time when the JSW and SAIC-owned company —the second largest in the electric passenger vehicle segment, has got a boost of confidence with the initial success of Windsor EV. With sales of 3116 units in October, the model outsold the largest selling Tata Nexon EV which 1593 units in the same month.

JSW MG is counting big on the electrification trend and sees nearly half of its sales coming from EVs by the end of the current calendar year. It also has plans to launch one new model every six months.