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One of Australia's cheapest sedans may not continue for much longer, after sales dropped by three-quarters in 12 months, and cars that aren't SUVs fall out of favour.
The continuation of the budget-priced MG 5 petrol sedan is under review after a sharp sales decline of 77 per cent this year, and greater focus on hybrid and electric cars.
The MG 5 attracted headlines two and a half years ago after it became one of three vehicles in more than 30 years of ANCAP testing to earn a zero-star safety rating, for sub-par crash protection and a lack of key crash-avoidance technology.
It has since been upgraded to three stars as part of a safety upgrade that saw the line-up trimmed to the top-of-the-range Essence grade, now price from $29,990 drive-away with a non-hybrid turbo engine.
However, sales so far in 2026 are down 76.6 per cent from the year prior – and 82.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2024 – assisted by a general decline in demand for compact sedans.
The MG 5 was absent from an overview of MG's current model line-up shown to Australian media this week at a preview drive of the new MG S6 EV electric family SUV.
"We're in the process now, as always, of just rationalising the product range, and the role of each of the vehicles is always being reviewed and considered," MG Australia marketing director Dimitri Andreatidis told media, including Drive.
"As part of that, we're just receiving feedback from our dealers and customers about the role of the MG 5.
"We're not confirming or denying the future of the vehicle at this stage, because we're just focusing here purely on the EV. The product line-up is purely focused on how we're going to complement our EV line-up."
MG Australia head of product, Meng Chen, said the MG 5 is still being produced, but pointed to the downturn in sales.
"It's something we have been observing, the market trends and the demand for this vehicle.
"This vehicle, in the last few months – maybe [in the] last 12 months – is getting down, because the customer preference has started shifting," he said, gesturing downwards.
"And also, I do want to highlight... if we consider a successor for that MG 5, MG 7 is a proper successor."
The MG 7 is a much more expensive vehicle, priced from $44,990 plus on-road costs – or about $45,500 to $47,500 drive-away – against the $29,990 MG 5, which is one of the country's most affordable new cars outright.
Neither vehicle is sold in Australia with a hybrid option to rival similarly-sized Camry and Corolla petrol-electric variants from Toyota.
Sales in the "small cars under $45,000" category, as determined by the car industry's new-vehicle sales statistics, are down 11 per cent so far this year, including slumps for the popular Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3.
Chen dismissed the impact of the ANCAP safety rating on MG 5 sales.
"Not necessarily. We also [have been] making efforts to improve the MG 5's NCAP star, from zero stars to three stars last year. That's showing our commitment to improve the MG brand's safety commitment."
Andreatidis added: "Safety is our number one priority, so that'll be our guiding line."
The three-star MG 5 and four-star MG 3 hatch are the only MG models with an ANCAP rating that is not five stars.
The $100,000 drive-away-plus Cyberster is likely too niche to garner ANCAP's attention – or MG submitting examples to the safety tester – while the S6 EV is a five-star car in Europe, but is yet to receive the same rating locally.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
