Davos 2026 | JSW's first car will launch just before Diwali this year, says Parth Jindal

Parth Jindal, the Director of MG Motor India and JSW Group scion, on Tuesday (January 20) said JSW's first car will launch in India this calendar year, just before Diwali.

Speaking to Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor of CNBC-TV18 at Davos 2026, Jindal said, "The factory construction in Shambhaji Nagar is well underway. The general assembly line will be ready by June, and the paint shop will be ready by October," he said. "In the initial period, we will be bringing the parts from China, assembling them here, and delivering from October onwards."

Jindal added, “The car will be 80% localised. Everything from the battery pack to the steel for the BIW parts, motor, seats, glass, and tyres will be produced in India. We are in advanced discussions to localise the cell technology as well, with the goal of being a 100% local producer in India with global technology partnerships."

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The first vehicle will be a plug-in hybrid muscle car, positioned to establish the JSW brand. "We aim to play in the ₹15–30 lakh price range. The first car will be slightly higher priced to establish the technology and powertrain, and the second car launching in January 2027 will be in the ₹15–20 lakh bracket," Jindal said.

In the paints business, Jindal spoke about the recent acquisition of AkzoNobel India. “We are now the fourth largest player in the paint space in India. Our goal is to move into the top three, and eventually the top two,” he said.

“The first step is to unlock all the synergies between JSW Paints and AkzoNobel. Dulux is strong in the premium segment, while JSW is strong in the mass segment. By combining, we can increase market share and improve margins."

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Jindal explained the operational strategy: “AkzoNobel has around 20,000 retailers, and JSW Paints has 9,000. There’s very little overlap. We will now offer JSW products to AkzoNobel dealers and Dulux to JSW dealers. With this, we can increase counter share across 29,000 counters while adding new ones.”

"Logistics costs will come down significantly with six manufacturing locations, reducing last-mile costs," he added. "The 2.9% royalty AkzoNobel India paid to the global company is eliminated, giving us more resources to invest in branding and advertising."

On cement, Jindal said, “Demand was slow till November due to weather conditions, but December saw an uptick to around 8–9% year-on-year growth, and January continues strong." He added, “Our first greenfield expansion in Rajasthan will be commissioned this quarter, taking our capacity to 25 million tonnes. Further expansions in Madhya Pradesh and the UAE will take us to 40 million tonnes by FY29."

Discussing operational efficiency, Jindal said, “By combining our cement, steel, and power operations, we can optimise raw material usage and logistics, which helps in keeping costs competitive and improving overall performance."

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