Articles by Stephen Ottley

MG could be about to shock the electric vehicle market in Australia, introducing a model with up to 800km of driving range.

The MG ZS Hybrid+ Excite, the entry grade model in the line-up, is priced from $33,990 drive-away, which pushes this new model into a financial space the previous generation ZS didn’t occupy.

Nobody likes being called cheap, even when it’s meant as a compliment.MG has been one of the fastest growing brands in Australia over the past decade, built predominantly off the back of its most affordable models, which undercut their more established rivals from Toyota, Hyundai and Kia. The brand is in the midst of a massive product offensive, which will include at least eight new options for Australian buyers by the end 2025, and it is starting to move itself away from its ‘cheap’ image.MG wants to become known for offering ‘value’ propositions, which has already begun with its new-generation MG3 and HS SUV and continued recently with the launch of its new ZS.The ZS is the brand’s best-seller, but rather than leading with its cheapest models it has decided to launch with its new ZS Hybrid+ variant. It starts at $33,990, well above the out-going, petrol-powered ZS, which was just $22,990 for the cheapest option.MG Motor Australia chief commercial officer, Giles Belcher, is confident the brand won’t take a backwards step, sales-wise, and is confident customers will be won over by the improved quality of the MG products.“Well, the quality and the technology in the cars is generationally different to the vehicles that they're replacing,” Belcher said.“With that there is an increase in the price but it's still the best value and that's where the value idea comes from. In each segment we still want to represent the best value car in that segment.“Now you know value means different things to different people, but if you have a look at the pricing of the MG3, the ZS hybrid, what you get in the car and the price it is, it just represents,  we believe, the best value in the segment. And that's kind of Peter vision for every segment we compete in is to offer the best value car. And that's not just price now, it's  the technology, the performance, the quality, the fit and finish, you know, the whole package. That's where we believe the product sits. And we believe once people experience it they'll agree.” Belcher also pushed back on the notion that buyers were focused on only MG’s cheapest model grades, claiming the brand has had good sales success with its more expensive variants.“I probably can't give you exact percentages, but we've always had a healthy mix of high grade vehicles in every particular model,” he said.Despite this shift and the potential to price some buyers out of the MG range, Belcher said he was confident the Chinese brand will continue to grow its sales in Australia in 2025. “Look, at the end of the day, the market decides and the consumers decide. We believe that the range we'll put forward will be successful; as probably everyone does when they launch a new car,” he explained. “But we firmly believe that it'll be successful. And again, it's about the education and the experience that people have when they first step into the car or sit in the car. Proof of the pudding will be, you know, in the 12 and 18 months time as to how successful we've been in that education.”The brand’s sales are likely to be helped by the arrival of the rest of the ZS SUV range, which will include more affordable petrol models. MG Australia’s head of local product, Akshat Ahuja, wouldn’t confirm if the brand will be able to bring in a variant below $25,000, as it currently has, but said the company would make sure it has cheaper models.“From a product point of view of course the cars are getting expensive and all that, and as Giles said, all our new upcoming cars, they are way more advanced, the fit and finish, the technology and everything,” Ahuja said. “But when we look at the particular model, the variant line-up, we always try to aim for the entry cars as well, the price point cars that also provide good value. So you might see ZS, like what we have seen today, $36,990, but we'll also have petrol ZS that will sort of be around that price point. And we'll attract the buyers who would be wanting a price point car.”

MG has earned a strong following in Australia with its affordable models, especially the ZS small SUV. But for the second generation the brand is trying to shift more upmarket, ditching its price-led effort for a new focus on value - but will it work?We drive the all-new ZS Hybrid+, the first time a hybrid powertrain has been offered in the model locally, to find out how this new era of MG looks.

The ‘will they or won’t they’ saga for MG Motors’ entry into Australia’s booming ute market is finally resolved, with the company’s senior local executives confirming one is on the way.

Is the Dodge Charger Daytona the canary in the coal mine for electric vehicles? A report from the US this week indicates the brand is rushing to get its twin-turbo six-cylinder petrol engine into showrooms six months ahead of schedule.

MG has launched its new-generation ZS small SUV, debuting it with an all-new hybrid powertrain before an expanded line-up arrives in 2025.

An all-new brand, nimble and contemporary, designed specifically to take-on the emerging markets and beat competition from more established brands.Volkswagen’s idea to revive the Scout brand as a primarily electric offering with an SUV and pickup seemed like a great idea when it was announced more than two years ago.But times have changed, dramatically.When the idea for Scout was revealed to the public, hopes were high the electric pickup truck market was about to boom in the USA, with the arrival of the Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla Cybertruck and the Rivian R1T.The Scout Terra ute and Traveler SUV concepts the brand revealed in the US recently look promising, both stylish and with good on-paper specifications.The problem is, the EV market has not evolved as expected. The F-150 Lightning has failed to spark with customers, the Cybertruck is an oddity and Rivian is still struggling to make a profit. Launching a new brand into these conditions looks like a far worse idea than it did two years ago, but Volkswagen is committed now and must carry on.Scout Motors president and CEO Scott Keogh tried to put a positive spin on the situation.“The original core idea — rugged, versatile vehicles capable of off-road adventure and family duty — is more relevant than ever,” he said. What Keogh failed to mention was the electric powertrains, originally a key selling point for Scout. Along with battery only. the brand will offer a range-extender option for those who don’t want to commit all the way to battery power. Scout is not going to offer petrol or diesel combustion engines.Whether this will be a gamble that jackpots or goes bust remains to be seen, but it does highlight the shifting fortunes in the EV market. After a slow start there was a boom for EV demand as models like the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y became more mainstream, even in markets like Australia. It saw multiple brands commit to an all-electric future within the next decade, but the EV sales growth has cooled. Electric car sales are still up year-to-date in Australia, but account for about 7.4 per cent of the total market. Australians continue to prefer petrol and hybrid powered vehicles — and that doesn’t look like changing dramatically anytime soon.The good news for Volkswagen Australia is there are no plans to offer the Scout models locally, they’ll be made in the US for the US market only. But the story of Scout and its early decision to nail its colours to the mast of electrification is a cautionary one for many car makers.Toyota has been criticised for its slow introduction of EVs, offering only the bZ4X SUV alongside a fleet of hybrid options. And yet, Toyota remains Australia’s favourite brand by some margin thanks to its ‘multi-pathway’ strategy of offering different options for different buyers.Not that EVs won’t become more popular in Australia, especially if the New Vehicle Efficiency Standards (NVES) helps to drive more investment in the segment and push down prices as hoped, but there is no guarantee it will.As the team at Volkswagen and Scout can no doubt tell you, a lot can change in two years…

It rivals Apple and Samsung and Ford boss Jim Farley raves about its products, but you’ve probably never heard of this brand.

Lotus has ushered in a new era under Chinese ownership, introducing three new models. We've driven the first two (the Emira sports car and Eletre electric SUV) and now we get to the final member of this trio - the Emeya sports sedan.We find out how this electric four-door stacks up as a challenger to the likes of the Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan.