MG Motor India has commenced the deliveries for the Astor compact SUV, which went on sale in the country last month. On the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras, the Chinese-owned British carmaker has delivered the first batch of over 500 units of the Astor to customers despite the ongoing chip shortage. The company plans to deliver about 4000 units to 5000 units by the end of next month. MG is now accepting bookings for the Astor for delivery in 2022. Prices for the SUV start from ₹ 9.78 lakh for the base Style variant, and go all the way up to ₹ 17.38 lakh for the top-of-the-line Sharp (O) (all prices are introductory ex-showroom, India).
Announcing the commencement of deliveries, MG Motor India said, “After receiving a good response for Astor, India’s first SUV with personal AI assistant and first-in-segment Autonomous (Level 2) technology, MG Motor India has delivered the first batch of more than 500 vehicles to customers on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras. This is particularly special considering the acute shortage of chips. The company is trying its best to improve the availability to meet its initial target of 4000-5000 deliveries by December end 2021.”
The Astor 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. The SUV is available in four variants – Style, Super, Smart, and Sharp with two engine options on offer – 1.5-litre VTi-Tech petrol and a 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, which is tuned to produce 138 bhp and 220 Nm. It is paired with a 6-speed automatic torque converter unit as standard.