New MG models coming: MG3, ZS, Cyberster and more

With just three models on its books, the reborn MG brand managed to lodge itself permanently in the top ten ranks of new car sales by the beginning of 2022.

The small MG3 hatch and ZS SUV led the charge thanks to a simplified and affordable pricing structure, a long warranty and – crucially – stock availability, while the medium-sized HS helped to bolster the bottom line.

Are they amazing cars? Not especially… but that hasn’t stopped tens of thousands of Australians voting with their wallets.

But what now for MG? Its best sellers are getting ever older, and it’s talking up the prospect of high-end EVs on its books in the next couple of years.

Here’s what we know about what’s coming down the pipe for MG Motors.

JUMP AHEAD

• New MG3 hatch
• MG Cyberster electric roadster
• LS6 electric SUV
• MG utes and vans?
• MG4 hatch
• MG5 sedan
• MG ZS & ZST
• MG HS & HS Plus EV (plug-in hybrid)

Future models

23

MG3

It’s the most affordable new car on the market in Australia today, but the MG3 can trace its lineage all the way back to 2011.

In fact, it’s so old, it is no longer officially rated by ANCAP for safety technology.

But thanks to a sub-$20k entry price, the brightly coloured baubles populate Australian suburban streets right across the country.

The drama for MG, though, is that building a new compact car is not cheap, thanks to those required safety standards.

Emission requirements, too, are a challenge when building a car down to a price.

Signals are mixed about a new MG3, but the barometer may be swinging towards a replacement car dropping in the next 12 months.

With a plethora of emerging markets at its disposal – and quite a few right-hand-drive ones at that – MG’s parent company SAIC must be seriously close to the point where a new, non-electrified compact car makes economic sense.

As more carmakers abandon the segment in favour of more highly specced and hybridised products, MG could back itself into a winner if it takes the gamble.

It almost certainly won’t be a five-star ANCAP car; its Australian CEO, Peter Ciao, has gone on record as saying safety standards are so high it’s “ridiculous”, all but ruling out the addition of items required to tick that fifth star.

Nor, according to the UK arm, will it necessarily be known as an MG3 – though the Australian arm may petition head office to retain the badge.

It will also be naturally aspirated, in order to keep it affordable. Given that SAIC makes upwards of six million cars a year, including a brace of zero-emissions machinery, it’s not as crucial to its fleet average to ensure every line is hybridised.

Nothing is confirmed, but MG does need to act quickly if it’s to replace the MG3.

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23

Cyberster

Currently being rolled out in MG markets overseas, all signs point to MG’s gullwing electric sports car hitting Australia at the end of 2024.

It will put the brand in a new space for price point, potentially becoming the first MG to cross the $100,000 barrier.

The Cyberster, though, competes in a market of one, with prodigious performance, rear-wheel-drive and just two seats.

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23

LS6 EV

According to reports, MG Australia is very keen to import a mid-sized luxury SUV from its sister brand IM Motors, the LS6, which is similar in size and concept to the ultra-successful Tesla Model Y.

It will likely crash through the $100,000 ceiling and, like the Cyberster, will help to expose the local market to a side of the MG brand not yet seen locally.

In terms of performance, the top-spec LS6 punches out 576kW and 800Nm of torque from a pair of electric motors, while offering a potential range in excess of 600km on a single charge.

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23

MG commercial vehicles

Could we ever see an MG dual-cab ute? Short answer: not in the short term.

The LDV brand of vans and utilities is part of the wider SAIC family, so it’s theoretically possible that a rebadged range of LDV products could be sold under the MG name.

It certainly would give MG extra firepower as it eyes greater success in the Australian market – and it would be buoyed to see the success of other Chinese utes like GWM in the cut-throat space.

However, selling LDV under the MG badge is not a strategy that SAIC has rolled out anywhere else in the world, and the LDV brand is sold locally under licence by ATECO in Sydney.

So while it’s theoretically possible, a lot of water needs to go under the bridge before it happens.

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Newly arrived

23

MG4

The new kid on the block for MG, the MG4 is built atop a new modular platform that’s said to be underneath the Cyberster sports car – and which could also spawn a new generation of MG EVs going forward.

Expect to see the MG4 have a very long shelf life. It’s much easier and more affordable to bolt new motors and batteries to a modular platform than it is to traditional gearboxes and engines, while software upgrades can give an EV a new lease on life in a couple of minutes.

The fact that the MG4 has scored five stars from ANCAP, too, will keep it in front of key fleet and rideshare buyers.

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23

MG5

Priced from just under $25,000 drive-away, the new MG5 small sedan continues the company’s mantra of value-led motoring, with a keen spec, a seven-year warranty and plenty of brick-and-mortar retailers to look after them.

As with the MG3, the MG5 lacks ANCAP five-star credentials and is unlikely to earn them, but the company doesn’t seem too worried, despite the fact it will hand away government fleet and ride-share sales to rivals with five stars.

Expect the MG5 to grace Australian MG forecourts for the rest of this decade, with a mid-life facelift likely in 2026.

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23

ZS/ZST

Given a stay of execution in the early part of 2021 partly because of its success down under, the small ZS SUV is MG’s chart success, stealing the mantle of best-selling small SUV from the Mitsubishi ASX.

Strictly speaking, the ZS comprises just a single model, with the bulk of the heavy lifting done by the four-variant ZST lineup.

What’s the future of the MG ZS? Well, like the MG3, it’s getting pretty long in the tooth in car years. While it has more standard safety gear than the MG3, the ZS and ZST aren’t likely to receive much in the way of future updates to bring them up to code.

Even the MG ZS EV doesn’t merit an ANCAP rating, despite the previous version of the car scoring five stars.

This doesn’t deter Aussie buyers, who buy the small SUV by the boatload.

Will the next MG ZA be based on MG’s new modular scalable platform? Given its time in market and its role as a mainstay seller in markets worldwide including Australia, we’d say yes.

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23

MG HS/HS Plus EV

It’s been a slow burn locally for the HS, but stock availability in the face of industry supply crunches gave the mid-sized HS a leg-up over the last couple of years.

Made around the globe, the HS is cookie-cutter stuff in the segment, and with outdated infotainment and ropy gearbox calibration, there are better cars to drive in the segment.

The AWD versions of the car have all but disappeared from the local roster, as well.

MG’s sole plug-in hybrid, the MG HS Plus EV, is finally selling in some numbers, beating the incumbent Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV in sales despite the latter’s decade in the market.

Will MG replace the HS? Our guess is yes, and its parent company SAIC will likely look to its Roewe brand in China as a source for a new mid-sized SUV.

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