JSW MG Motor announces price hike of up to 2% even as car sales lag

While India's car sales surged nearly 20% in the aftermath of the GST rate cuts, those of JSW MG Motor have declined.

JSW MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd. has announced a price hike of up to 2%, at a time when its car sales have lagged despite GST bonanza for the wider industry.

The MG Cyberster. ( (PTI Photo/Shashank Parade))

The price hike is effective from 1 January 2026 and will vary as per the model and variant, according to a company statement on Thursday. The change was warranted due to rising input costs and other macroeconomic factors.

The price hike—an annual phenomenon—comes close on the heels of the GST rationalisation that made small cars to SUVs cheaper in the world's third largest car market. Effective 22 September,

• Small cars (<4 metres in length with <1,200 cc engines) attract a goods and services tax of 18% from 28% earlier.
• Larger cars (>4 metres in length with > 1,200 cc engines) are taxed at 40% as against 28% earlier.
• The compensation cess has been done away with, thereby reducing the GST on SUVs from as high as 50% to a flat 40%.
• Electric cars continue to attract 5% GST.

But, things change. JSW MG Motor is now banking on its updated MG Hector SUV ( ₹11.99 lakh, ex-showroom) to deliver the goods in the new year.

“The Hector was our maiden nameplate and quickly became synonymous with the MG brand, emerging as one of India’s most loved SUVs with 1.5 lakh customers since its debut,” Anurag Mehrotra, managing director at JSW MG Motor India, said in a statement on 15 December when the car was launched. “With the All-New MG Hector, we take this legacy a notch higher by enhancing its design, comfort, and technology, offering an unmatched value proposition.”