3 days ago
12
MG has all but locked in its first dual-cab ute for Australia – likely to share DNA with LDV – as it sets its sights on outselling the likes of Mitsubishi and Kia.
MG is poised to wade into battle against the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max with its first dual-cab ute for Australia.
Executives for the growing manufacturer have identified a dual-cab as a key model needed to achieve bold sales targets to place among Australia's Top Five best-selling car brands in 2027 – and Top Three in 2030.
It remains to be seen how much the MG ute has in common with models from LDV – as both brands are part of the SAIC Motor group – and if it is powered by petrol, diesel, and/or electricity.
Arrival timing is yet to be disclosed, but MG executives say they "don't want to take shortcuts" – but also "not take too long" to hit the market.
"When I went back to China, I chatted with the [SAIC] chairman and I said, 'You expect me better, better, but I told you, in Australia, without a ute you can't achieve Top Three, Top Five.' That's it," MG CEO Peter Ciao told media including Drive.
"I've already announced my target, right?"
Asked if it was fair to assume MG would not announce such bold targets if it did not know it had the upcoming models needed to achieve them, Ciao and MG Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher both said: "Yes."
Given MG's bold sales targets, the ute would need to be in showrooms by 2027 – but it could arrive even sooner.
MG Australia head of product Akshat Ahuja said: "We would love to have a ute tomorrow, right? But good things take time.
"All I can tell you is we're working really hard on it. From our side, we are trying to make it as early as possible. But then again, there's a process. We also don't want to take shortcuts.
"We just want to make sure that we provide a good quality, well-tested product in the market – but also not take too long."
There is likely to be some relationship between the MG ute and LDV's new pick-up, the Terron 9, which offers a choice of diesel and electric power.
"LDV and MG both belong to SAIC Motor [so] 100 per cent we share lots of product resource, but MG ute will focus on how to fit MG, the target customer," Ciao said.
MG has previously acknowledged there could be some "awkwardness" between it and LDV, as the former is a factory-owned operation in Australia, but the latter is distributed by independent importer Ateco.
The illustration at the top of this story – created by Theottle – is purely speculative, and applies MG's latest design language to the Terron 9.
MG has previously sold a ute in South-East Asian markets known as the Extender, which is a rebadged version of the LDV T60.
Ciao told a media conference MG would grow its range to offer seven petrol or diesel models, five hybrids or plug-in hybrids, and seven battery-electric cars.
Based on the passenger-car and SUV plans the company has confirmed, all but one petrol or diesel, one hybrid and one electric model are accounted for – opening space for a ute that offers multiple sources of power.
"SAIC Motor ... have all the tech solutions," Ciao said.
"We just show we have this ability, building supercars [the Cyberster roadster]. So, on the ute, what kind of tech [can we offer]? We can do everything. We can do everything."
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.
