MG Motor India—the subsidiary of China’s largest carmaker SAIC Motor Corporation—has short-listed 12 startups under its ‘MG Innovation Grand Challenge’ programme held recently at IIT Delhi.
The company—which will launch its first car in the second quarter of next year—said it received 71 applications from across the country for the ‘Grand Challenge’. Of these, 12 teams were short-listed for the final round. “The solutions aim at addressing the challenges in the electric vehicle ecosystem and the auto-tech space. These startups will get mentoring and assistance with market access for their domain-transforming ideas,” the company said in a statement.
Rajeev Chaba, president & managing director, MG Motor India, said, “Young India has tremendous potential and it can not only transform automotive technology, but also make automobiles safer, comfortable, ecofriendly, and well-connected. Our event was aimed at providing a stage to the next wave of automotive innovators and nurturing their disruptive ideas. We also created an all-women team category to encourage female entrepreneurs and support their involvement in the traditionally male-dominated automotive space.”
The first prize of Rs 2 lakh went to Vecmocon Technologies of IIT Delhi for its ‘smart electric mobility solutions for two-wheelers’; the best prototype award of Rs 1 lakh went to Zyme Technologies for its ‘telematics solution for connected car ecosystem’; and the best concept award of Rs 1 lakh was won by Team Vijayanat from the Oriental Institute of Science and Technology, Bhopal, for its ‘auto tyre pressure inflation system’.
The popular choice award went to AutoSync Technologies for its ‘plug-n-play smart car speakers’ called Carpod.
Earlier this year, the company conducted a hackathon on how to make transportation safer and cleaner with students from Navrachana University in Vadodara, Gujarat, where the company’s manufacturing facility is located.
