MG won't cede the titles of Australia's favourite small SUV, light car

MG says it expects to continue to be able to boast it has Australia’s most popular small SUV and light car, even as new-generation models come on stream that are more expensive.

It launched a new MG 3 in June, which saw the base price of the popular light hatch climb by $18,990 drive-away to $23,990 before on-roads.

MG’s new-generation MG 3 is therefore a significantly more expensive vehicle than the one it replaces, and the new ZS is launching first as a pricier hybrid with more affordable petrol models following early next year.

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But while its entry-level hatch and SUV are no longer quite the bargain basement vehicles they were – or rather, are, as stock of the old-shape models is still available – MG thinks they’ll remain more popular than rivals.

“We expect so,” MG Motor Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher told Australian media when asked whether the ZS will remain Australia’s best-selling small SUV.

He shared the same confidence when asked about the MG 3 remaining Australia’s best-selling light car, again saying, “We expect so.”

The MG 3 became Australia’s best-selling light car in 2020, while the ZS became the best-selling small SUV in 2021.

MG sold 714 MG 3s in November as stock of the old-shape car continued to dry up, somewhat of a drop compared to previous months. From January to October, it averaged 1042 sales per month.

Its November performance saw the gulf between it and the Suzuki Swift (623 sales) and Mazda 2 (525 sales) narrowed significantly, though it’s still far ahead of them in year-to-date figures.

To November 30, MG has sold 11,135 MG 3s in Australia against 5735 Suzuki Swifts and 4948 Mazda 2s.

The company doesn’t split the tallies of the outgoing and new generations of its light hatch, so it’s unclear how many of those sales can be attributed to the new car.

It has previously said it had enough stock of the previous-generation model to last it until this month.

Sales of the ZS swelled in November to 2794, including not only examples of the new-generation ZS Hybrid+ but also the outgoing petrol-powered ZS and ZST and electric ZS EV.

Much like the MG 3, it’s far ahead of its rivals in year-to-date tallies. MG has sold 21,462 examples this year, with the Hyundai Kona a distant second at 16,431 sales.

The company has yet to confirm pricing for the petrol-powered new-generation ZS models due in the first quarter of 2025. According to government approval documents, these will feature both naturally aspirated and turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engines.

MG confirmed in November that production of the outgoing ZS and ZST had ceased, though there would be stock around – depending on demand – to last until January and February.

The ZS EV will be replaced in the second quarter of 2025 by the new ES5 electric SUV, which sits on a separate dedicated electric vehicle platform shared with the MG 4.

While this will take some sales away from the ZS’ tally in 2025, this may be offset by the introduction of the Hybrid+.

To the end of the September, MG sold 1003 ZS EVs, accounting for 5.9 per cent of the total ZS tally for that period.

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