JSW MG taps into Chinese parent Saic for 70% of its purchases
New Delhi: JSW Group is looking to increase its stake in JSW MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd, but its Chinese partner Saic Motor continues to play a central role in the carmaker’s supply chain. Nearly 70% of the joint venture’s purchases in the financial year 2026 (FY26) came from Saic-linked firms, taking their total business with the Indian carmaker to about $840 million, including royalty and licence fees, regulatory filings show.
The numbers underscore the scale of the company’s dependence on Chinese supplies and challenge of increasing local sourcing.
A review of the Indian joint venture’s FY26 accounts filed with corporate affairs ministry shows transactions with Saic-linked entities of about $840 million, including purchases of components and other goods worth around $820 million as well as royalty and licence fees of around $20 million.
The transactions suggest that of JSW MG’s total procurement of goods worth around $1.16 billion, more than two-thirds came from Saic-controlled firms, making the JV a significant revenue opportunity for the Chinese firm’s ecosystem.
Its overall transactions have grown from around $640 million in FY25, with share of purchases from Saic in total procurement slightly lower from about 74% in FY25 to 70% in FY26.
According to the company’s related-party disclosures, MG procured goods from at least 10 Saic-linked entities in FY26, with the bulk coming from Chinese companies in the second full fiscal year since the joint venture took off in 2024.
Ji Qiwei, a Saic group veteran who held senior roles across its automotive businesses for more than two decades, joined JSW MG Motor as president in January 2025 and was appointed to its board in September, company filings show.
As per the filings, JSW MG's largest purchase was from Guangxi Haoling Automotive Technology Co. Ltd, which accounted for ₹5,153.82 crore of purchases of goods. Other major suppliers included Saic Maxus Automotive, Saic Motor International and Saic Overseas Intelligent Mobility Technology.
The disclosures classify the transactions as purchases of raw materials and traded goods, without specifying if they were individual components, assemblies or completely knocked-down kits of vehicles.
The JSW Group, Saic and JSW MG Motor India did not respond to emailed queries.
The joint venture recently appointed Parth Jindal as chairman, succeeding his father Sajjan Jindal, as JSW and Saic remain in discussions over the future ownership and funding of the company. Parth Jindal had said in August that “discussions between both shareholders are well underway”, but did not give details. He said Saic sees India as its “next engine for growth”.
JSW MG was the Jindal conglomerate’s first automobile foray via a partnership with Saic, with the group now expanding into the segment via its own entities, JSW Motors for passenger vehicles and JSW Greentech for commercial vehicles. The company is also in talks with Volkswagen Group for a joint venture, being seen as an attempt to broaden its global tie-ups.
JSW MG is rapidly expanding its operations in India. The company sold 72,918 vehicles in FY26, up about 17% from 62,501 units a year earlier. The company has earlier said it plans to expand capacity at Halol and deepen localization, with an aim to invest ₹3,000-4,000 crore over next few years.
The joint venture was formed in 2023, when JSW agreed to acquire a 35% stake in MG Motor India, with Saic retaining 49% and the balance held by Indian financial institutions, dealers and employees. The partnership was formally launched in 2024, with a plan to expand manufacturing, boost local sourcing and bring more electric and other new-energy vehicles to India.
For Saic, the Indian business is small relative to the size of its global operations but represents a growing market for its wider ecosystem of vehicle and component suppliers. Saic Motor reported consolidated revenue of 656.2 billion yuan ($91.3 billion) in 2025, when it sold 4.51 million vehicles globally.
In FY26, JSW MG reported a 40% revenue growth to ₹12,075 crore while its net loss reduced from ₹1,096 crore in FY25 to ₹931 crore.
“Saic's leverage isn't only its shareholding. It is also the technology, platforms, and supply chain that JSW MG still depends on. JSW, for its part, brings capital, local execution and a route to scale, and India's rules on investment from land-border countries still matter, even after this year's limited relaxations,” said Vinay Piparsania, founder at Millenstrat Advisory and Research.
“Related-party purchases on this scale, however, will also attract transfer-pricing scrutiny, which makes it fair to ask how much of the losses are structural," he said. "Ultimately, the test is localization. Until import dependence comes down meaningfully, more Indian ownership won't automatically mean more operational independence.”