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Marton Pettendy5 Feb 2013
NEWS

MG6 and MG3 for Oz this year

Chinese-owned British brand confirms imminent Australian launch for MG, with MG3 to follow MG6 this year

The Chinese owner of one of Britain’s most recognised brands, MG, has confirmed it will launch the MG6 small car in Australia within two months, followed by the MG3 light car by year’s end.

As motoring.com.au reported last year, MG owner and China’s largest car-maker, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), has gained Australian Design Rule certification for the Toyota Corolla-sized MG6 in September.

Now, the manager of right-hand drive overseas markets for SAIC passenger cars, Xiaomin Xi, has confirmed the MG6 will be launched Down Under over the coming Easter weekend (March 30-31) and will be joined on sale by the smaller MG3 hatchback later this year.

“Yes, the (MG6) launch is confirmed to be during this Easter,” Mr Xi told motoring.com.au. “Australia is an important market for us - we acknowledge that MG has a lot of enthusiasts from previous MG car owners.

“We are planning to launch another small hatch, MG3, by this year end and further models are likely to be considered upon the market performance.”

Although Australian MG distributor, Petersham-based Longwell Motor, would not comment on its local rollout plans until launch, Mr Xi confirmed it will involve just one model (hatch and sedan versions of the MG6) and one Sydney dealership - one of the former Rick Damelian showrooms on Parramatta Road.

However, he said more MG retail outlets will be opened soon, including in Brisbane and Newcastle, and that both SAIC and Longwell Motor are working closely with existing owners and enthusiasts via the MG car club, which will hold its annual meeting at Toowoomba in Queensland over the Easter weekend.

As we reported last year, three versions of the MG6 sedan and hatch were released in New Zealand in November by British Motor Distributors, priced from $NZ29,990 ($A23,925).

Australian models will be powered here by the same 118kW 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, although an MG6 Turbo flagship is available in NZ, where a turbo-diesel version will be released. Fuel consumption of the 1.8-litre petrol-four will be about 7.5L/100km.

All six ‘MG6GT’ models will initially only be available with a five-speed manual transmission, but an automatic transmission is likely to follow.

Based on a new platform engineered in Britain for the Roewe range - rather than the BMW-engineered Rover 75 platform - both MG6s measure measures 4651mm long, 1827mm wide, 1472mm high and ride on a 2705mm wheelbase, making them about the same size as a Corolla and Mazda3.

The four-door MG6GT sedan offers a 478-litre boot (extending to 1268 litres with the 60/40-split rear seats folded), while the five-door hatch has 498 litres of rear cargo space and a total of 1372 litres.

Australian specifications are otherwise unclear, but in NZ standard features for the entry-level S include electronic stability/traction control, antilock brakes, twin front airbags, air-conditioning, power windows/mirrors, remote central locking, front foglights, 17-inch alloy wheels, cloth-trimmed sports seats, metallic and pearl paint colours, a stainless steel exhaust outlet and a CD/MP3 player with AUX and USB inputs.

In NZ, mid-range MG6 variants offer rear parking sensors, cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring, a multi-function leather-clad steering wheel and mid-line sound system with colours screen, while the top-shelf TSE gains a reversing camera, leather trim, heated front seats, dual-zone climate-control, automatic headlights and wipers, a chilled centre console and Bluetooth connectivity.

The new MG3, meantime, is a Toyota Yaris-sized hatch that will be launched in Europe later this year, after production begins in Birmingham in coming months.

The first vehicles from China’s biggest motor manufacturer, SAIC, arrived here in January, courtesy of Sydney-based importer WMC Group and its range of LDV-badged commercial vans.

Along with Rover and Land Rover, MG was bought by BMW in 1994, before being sold in 2000 to the UK’s now-bankrupt MG Rover Group. It then sold the MG Rover brand in 2005 to China’s Nanjing Automobile Group, which on-sold the MG and Roewe (Rover) brands to SAIC in 2006.

China is currently the only source of MG cars, although Britain’s RHD MG6 is assembled in Birmingham from CKD (completely knocked down) kits made in China and MGs continue to be designed and engineered in the UK.

Australian-delivered MGs will initially be produced in China, before production switches to a new factory in Thailand, which has a free-trade agreement with Australia, potentially allowing lower prices and/or improved standard equipment levels.

SAIC has entered into a joint-venture deal with Thai-based industrial conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group that will see up to 50,000 MG cars - including RHD export models - built annually in Thailand from 2014.

Although MG sports cars were last sold in Australia in 2005, more than 200,000 MGs were sold in China last year, making the 89-year-old British brand the fastest growing passenger vehicle marque in the world’s most populous nation.

“SAIC Motor passenger vehicle company is getting its pace quickly into a global company,” said Mr Xi, who added that the MG6 is compliant with European design rules.

“The product to be launched in Australia has passed EU homologation which rests assurance of the quality,” he said.

“We are honored to have a UK based team with about 200-300 British engineers, which relays the heritage part of the brand and mixed with the modern designing taste.

“MG, as an iconic brand, is well received in China as well as in global market,” said Mr Xi.

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