All-new MG Ute coming 'as early as possible' to challenge the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max

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.

MG has set itself the goal of becoming a top three selling brand in Australia and know it cannot achieve such a loft ambition without its own rival to the popular Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.

MG Australia CEO, Peter Ciao, confirmed he had been in discussion with headquarters about adding a ute in order to meet the sales aspirations.

“I went back to China, I chatted with the chairman and I said ‘you expect me [to get] better [and] better [sales], but I told you in Australia, without a ute you can't achieve the top three [in sales]',” he said.

Asked directly if MG would have set such a bold sales target without the hope of a ute, Ciao confirmed the addition of the crucial new model.

“Yes,” he said.

Akshat Ahuja, head of product for MG Australia went a step further, when pressed for a timeline, and revealed the local operation is lobbying hard for a ute, but doesn’t want to rush it to market.

“We would love to have a ute tomorrow, right? But good things take time,” Ahuja said. “So, all I can tell you is we have been working really hard on it. From our side, we are trying to make it as early as possible. Then again, there's a process. We also don't want to take shortcuts, right? We just want to make sure that we provide a good quality, well-tested product in the market, but also not take too long.”

MG, like other Chinese car makers, is earning a reputation for its rapid development of new models.

MG doesn’t offer a ute in Australia, it does have the LDV T60-based Extender available in selected markets and will be able to draw on the resources of LDV to help produce its first dual-cab ute for Australia. Ciao was adamant the MG will have its own unique features to set it apart.

“LDV and MG both belong to SAIC Motors 100 percent,” he said. “We will share lots of product resource. But MG Ute will focus on how to fit the MG type of customer.”

As for what will power MG’s first ute for Australia, Ciao made it clear the company has the resources and knowledge to offer petrol, hybrid or electric depending on what it believes is right for the market.

“You will find that SAIC Motors, the whole group, we have all the tech solutions… [Someone] said, ‘why are we building Cyberster?’ We just show we have this ability building supercar,” he said. “So on the ute, what kind of tech? We can do everything, we can do everything already.”