They are not looking at the charts. Not really. MG Motor Australia has been pushed down the ladder by BYD, GWM, and Chery. They teeter on the edge of the top ten. It does not matter. The brand insists its focus is elsewhere. On customers. On dealers. On new models.
The numbers are what they are. To the end of May 206, MG moved 18,144 vehicles in Australia. That is a 2.1 per cent gain over the previous year. But it is a loss against history. Specifically, against the peaks of 2022 and 203. It is their lowest Jan-May result in five years
Look at 202. Three models did the heavy lifting. The ZS. The HS. The MG3. Twenty thousand and 769 units. A seventh place finish. The crown jewel. Top Chinese brand. BYD had barely arrived then. GWM was nowhere near, sitting at 15th place
Now? 18,14 vehicles sold across 12 different nameplaces. Two electric models from the IM sub-brand included. The ZS remains king. But the rank slipped to 10th. Chery sat above them with 20,459. Isuzu held 16th ground
The market has changed hasn’t it
Dimitri Andreatidis. Marketing lead for MG Motor Australia and NZ. He sees competitors everywhere. Healthy competition, he says. Good competition. He notes the product range is vast now. Extensive. The goal is reinforcing brand identity. The contribution of each car
He is unconcerned about the raw numbers. Not worried. The priority is the dealer network. Resources for the best customer experience. Building the portfolio
A city car is coming. Maybe the MG 2. Goodwood Festival of Speed reveal scheduled later this month. Then there is the electric push. The MG 4 Urban EV is here. The S6 EV SUV too. An electric U9 dual-cab hits local showrooms this year
Meanwhile BYD cracked the top five back in July 25. They were second in April and May of 26. Behind Toyota. The EV lineup did the heavy lifting
EVs hit 19.9% market share in May. The Tesla Model Y won overall sales. It is made in Shanghai. So what do we do with that. In May, 34.8% of new cars in Australia came from China. American brand label notwithstanding
The timing is tight. MG just announced pricing for the U9 Black Edition. Dual-cab. Cosmetic upgrades. All-terrain tyres. Towing Cruise Control
Black Edition proves the focus, Andreatidis says. Reinforce that, and the sales come
Passion. That drives them. Ten years in Australia. A hundred-year brand. The focus has not shifted. Deliver the best for dealers. For customers. Value for money. Advocates, not just owners
Optimizing current offerings. Cementing positions. That is the plan. The rest will follow. Or not
