MG Astor Batch 1 Deliveries Could Be Delayed Due To Semiconductor Shortage

It was earlier this month that MG Motor India commenced deliveries of the Astor with over 500 units were handover to customers on the occasion of Dhanteras. The company aims to deliver 5000 units of the Astor SUV by the end of December. In a recent development, the Chinese-owned British automaker has said that Astor's batch one deliveries could be delayed because of the semiconductor crunch. Moreover, all the batch one customers will be protected from the price hike, if there is a spillover to 2022. MG also said that it has recorded strong demand for Style and Super variants, which is different from its original plan. It is making efforts to recalibrate its entire work at the backend ensuring support to the customer base.

Also Read: MG Astor Deliveries Begin In India; Over 500 Units Delivered On Dhanteras​

The MG Astor compact SUV was launched in India last month

Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer, MG Motor India said, "We all are facing a situation which is very unprecedented. The supply of chips and semiconductors is very uncertain and very dynamic. Sometimes our suppliers, whether it is global or European suppliers, have a weekly schedule which also gets altered. And that makes us change our production plans. We have also seen very high demand for certain variants, which is different from the original plan, for example, our customers of Style and Super. But we have recalibrated our entire work at the backend to be able to support our customer base. We are working to deliver our batch 1, our first 5000 cars in this calendar year. But just in case, there's a spillover to next year, I can assure you all batch 1 customers will be protected at the launch pricing."

The MG Astor compact SUV was launched in India last month with prices starting at Rs. 9.78 lakh for the base Style variant, while the top-of-the-line Sharp (O) variant is priced at Rs. 17.38 lakh. (All prices are introductory ex-showroom, India). The SUV is available in five variants - Style, Super, Smart, Sharp and the top-of-the-line Super(O) or Savvy variant. It is one of the most tech-laden SUVs from MG, which comes with a personal AI assistant and Level 2 autonomous tech with ADAS features.

Also Read: MG Astor Review: Compact SUV Big On Tech​

The MG Astor comes with a choice of two engine options - 1.5-litre VTi-Tech petrol and 1.4-litre 220 Turbo AT petrol. The former is a naturally aspirated unit that makes 108 bhp at 6000 rpm with 144 Nm at 4400 rpm of peak torque. The motor comes mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and an 8-speed CVT gearbox. The latter is a more powerful turbo petrol engine, tuned to produce 138 bhp and 220 Nm. It is paired with a 6-speed automatic torque converter unit as standard.