How can one bring geopolitics into a car review? Well, one can
Let me be very honest at the outset, the MG Gloster for what it offers with regards to technology features, comfort, space and size is tremendously good value. Everything may not gel together all that well at times but the car is a beast that gets the job of transporting its passengers in luxury done very comfortably. It is easily larger than the competition, the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour. And while I did have some issues with the body roll and the lethargic get up and go, these are not uncommon traits in vehicles of this size unless you fit them with expensive suspension get-ups and big engines.
Sure, there were some technology issues after I had enabled most of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), those acronyms you hear of in the MG advertising. I have driven cars with many of those features in the past but it is noteworthy that MG has brought many of them to a price-point that was unheard of. Stuff like Lane-Keeping Assist (LKA) is useful, particularly on highways but of course, as I’ve noticed on other cars, these features tend to be let down by poor road markings. If you have been on the entry to the Barapullah Elevated Road from the Kidwai Nagar end in Delhi, you will know what I mean. The other thing is features like Collision Warnings and Automatic Braking; I have had some interesting experiences with the latter in particular in India on a Mercedes-Benz S-Class and a Volvo XC60.
Your brakes might be excellent but many drivers in India follow the car ahead, without leaving, forget adequate, any space whatsoever. Emergency braking is intense and it cannot account for the idiot behind you. So with traffic weaving in and out in front of you, pedestrians dashing across roads, and while I’m aware that several of the MG Gloster’s features will not work above certain speeds, automatic emergency braking could lead to some rear-end accidents. Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for the features to be removed but possibly in Indian urban conditions outside central Delhi, it makes sense to run such features at lower sensitivity. I would love other manufacturers in India to take this lead from MG and bring more such safety features in India.
For the geopolitical side, if you are not aware by now because of the intense “Brit-washing” by MG India, the inescapable fact is that MG is a Chinese-owned brand. The cars you see on Indian roads might have British actors endorsing them but are designed, tested and manufactured in China. MG is a brand owned by Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC), which is China’s largest carmaker and is owned by the Chinese-state through the Shanghai Administration. It means that it is run by the Chinese Communist Party which means it is an organ of Chinese foreign influence. MG has immense scale in China and is the country’s largest automotive manufacturer thanks to its joint-ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen. They bought the rights to the MG and Rover brands from Nanjing Automotive in 2009, which itself had bought out the British brands in 2005. While there is an MG assembly plant at the old Longbridge site in the UK, it is not a manufacturing unit. I have actually visited the SAIC R&D and Design centre outside Shanghai as well as their test facilities four to five hours outside the city.
Yes, I believe that MG Gloster is a good vehicle to buy but, and this is serious, I do not presently believe that MG India’s business will not suffer major material changes thanks to the current standoff in Ladakh. It is apparent to every Indian, no matter what their position on cars is, that China views India as a rival and would go as far as a military conflict to resolve any issues. If you have been following the news, this has led to several things such as the ban on Chinese applications and stricter controls on how money from China is routed into India. And it is the latter that creates problems for MG. It is known that further investments from SAIC into India are being delayed by the Indian Government, stalling any plans that MG had to invest in their plant in Halol. Unconfirmed reports of the government delaying imports of crucial parts using the Customs Department. News items have emerged where MG India is apparently in talks with Volkswagen to use the German company’s group manufacturing facilities in Chakan outside Pune but there is little guarantee that permissions will be given.
Basically, I have severe doubts at the present moment whether MG India will survive in its present shape or form. These are matters far beyond the control of the company’s management. If things hot up on the Eastern Ladakh border, buying any MG product would be stupid, not just for patriotic reasons but for reasons of maintenance. A car is, unfortunately, not a smartphone. It is not something you can easily write-off. Yes, it is a good product and the top-spec car at `35.38 lakh is very good value, let alone the entry-level specifications. But can I in good faith recommend this car knowing what the current situation at the border is? Sadly, I cannot.
