Major electric car deal for South Africa

South African company Megamillion Mobility has announced an agreement with JSW MG India to import, assemble, and distribute affordable electric vehicles (EVs) in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Established in 2019, JSW MG Motor India is a joint venture between the India-based JSW Group and Chinese carmaker SAIC, which owns the formerly British MG Motor Group.

The company operates a vehicle manufacturing plant in Gujarat, which produces roughly 80,000 cars per year.

As part of Megamillion’s deal with the India conglomerate, rebranded MG EVs carrying the “Everione” name will be coming to South Africa.

The first model launching locally will be the Everione.happy, a rebranded MG Comet. The Comet itself is actually a rebadged SAIC Wuling Air.

This 3-door, 4-seat ultra-compact hatchback packs a 31kW motor with 110Nm torque, with acceleration from standstill to 100km/h in 19.9 seconds.

Its manufacturer claims the Everione.happy’s 17.3kWh battery can cover a range of up to 230km on a single charge in city-based driving scenarios.

Although its specifications leave much to be desired compared to entry-level EVs sold by the likes of BYD, GWM, and Volvo, the Everione.happy should also be much cheaper.

While local pricing remains to be confirmed, Megamillion claimed it would be “Africa’s most affordable premium EV.”

For reference, the Comet costs 499,000 rupees in India, working out to about R110,000 at the time of publication.

Even if its landing price is more than double that figure, it will become South Africa’s most affordable EV by a significant margin.

Like the Dayun S5, which currently starts at roughly R400,000, the Everione.happy is capable of a top speed of roughly 100km/h.

The partners said the Everione.happy will feature class-leading safety technology features and be equipped with advanced connected car features.

That includes support for over 99 voice commands in six local African languages — including Afrikaans and isiZulu.

The car will be sold in South Africa within the next few months, along with Megamillion’s EV home charging solutions.

The companies said that more EV models from JSW MG Motor India are scheduled to land in Africa in 2025 and 2026.

The firm produces two more fully electric cars — the MG Windsor EV and MG ZS EV.

The latter’s petrol-powered sibling was rolled out in South Africa late last year as part of MG’s local relaunch.

Localisation will make electric cars more affordable

JSW MG Motor India value analysis/value engineering director Sameer Jindal said the company’s EVs were gaining widespread acceptance in India.

“We have continuously expanded our product portfolio, increased the customer base considerably, and have emerged as a leading electric car manufacturer,” Jindal said.

“We aim to enable the rapid adoption of EVs with more product offerings, resulting in a potential for strong growth momentum in this important market.”

While the first models will be imported, the plan is to eventually make the EVs locally.

Megamillion Group founder and CEO Nechan Naicker said that local production would greatly reduce EV prices in Africa.

For full end-to-end manufacturing capabilities, Megamillion Energy is also forming a major joint venture with a co-founder of China’s first large-scale 18650 lithium-ion cell producer Tianjin LiShen Battery.

The collaboration will see the establishment of a manufacturing plant called Giga-Africa 1, which could become South Africa’s first battery cell factory.

The plant will initially use dry cells imported from China, but electrolyte filling and other post-processing will be done in South Africa.

However, the company has not yet provided details on costs, location, or a timeline for the project.