MG Motor India on Wednesday unveiled its upcoming mid-size SUV ‘Astor’ that will come with a personal artificial intelligence (AI) assistant and level 2 autonomous driving technology.
Astor, which the company plans to launch near the festive season, is the first model in the company’s global portfolio to get personal AI, a system that has been designed by American firm ‘Star Design’.
“MG as a brand has always stood for innovation. Innovation in the 60s and 70s was about land speed and how fast you can go and today is about technology... this journey of tech continues to evolve. We have worked with close to 200 start-ups in India till now,” Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer — MG Motor India, said.
Mr. Gupta added that the company aimed to further its auto-tech focus by building on the concept of Car-as-a-Platform (CAAP).
When it hits the market, Astor will compete with the likes of Hyundai’s Creta and Kia Seltos.
Asked about the availability of Astor in India, Mr. Gupta said, “We are trying to bring it near the festive season this year, but frankly the global chips shortage situation is so alarming that we have to be very very flexible and be prepared for the situation which may not be that favourable; but currently, that’s the time frame we are targeting.”
On demand expectation, he added that the market had responded in an encouraging way post the second wave, and if the potential wave three is not a deterrent, the demand should continue through the festive season. “We are of course gearing up as well, in terms of our manufacturing, to be able to support the demand but a lot of supply chain shortages of chips, semiconductors...for everybody in the world, it is a challenging situation right now. But overall, we do see that the momentum should continue through the festive season,” he said.
On security of personal data, Mr. Gupta stressed that the AI does not listen in to conversations, and will be activated only when users say ‘Hello Astor’. Further, all car-related data is stored using Microsoft Azure. “We are working with Microsoft to ensure that the highest level of data security is maintained. We also have a partnership with L&T Technology Services where they... audit our entire security system... so we are constantly working in this area,” he said.