After a false start in 2013 under an independent distributor, MG Motor is setting its sights high, with 20,000 sales targeted by 2025, effectively giving it up to 3% marketshare. They say that a bulk of these numbers will be supplied by the GS SUV, that should see a local introduction sometime next year.
Where the British marque made its initial re-entry three years ago under a distributor, the ‘second coming’ for the Chinese-owned brand is backed by the manufacturer themselves with a head office in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, which also sees a local leadership team under their employ. This strategy, they say, will ensure that MG doesn’t fail again.
SAIC Motor’s public relations director Yang Honghai said at a media event, that MG would be taking a gentle initial approach in Australia, gathering momentum in time. “We’re young, and we’re still starting here,” said Mr. Honghai, “and I don’t want to put too much pressure on this market [Australia] because we need to understand the market and the consumer first.”
MG’s bold target of 20,000 vehicles would put it between Audi (at 23,088 sales, 2% marketshare) and Kia (33,736 sales, 2.9% marketshare) in terms of sales, based on the 1.1million vehicles Australia sold last year. Mr. Honghai intimated that the the GS SUV would contribute most to those figures.
“GS, we know [to be] a good SUV. It’s a really good [match] to this market, with people here driving SUVs every day. We want to bring fantastic products here [to Australia] and give more choices [to the market]. As for the actual timing [of the introduction] for the GS, maybe we will provide detail & data for it by the end of the year.”
In other markets, the MG GS SUV is offered with a 1.5 litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, producing 125kW of power and 250Nm of torque, mated exclusively to a 6-speed dual-clutch gearbox, similar to the unit found in the existing MG6 Plus liftback.
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