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MG cuts slow-selling models

Sales of the current MG6 Plus have wound down, but it remains unclear if Australia will get the new version.

MG Motor Australia has rationalised its local model line-up, discontinuing the MG6 Plus small sedan and the base manual GS mid-size SUV to focus on stronger selling products.

Speaking to CarsGuide, a local MG spokesperson could not confirm whether the new-generation MG6, revealed at this year’s Shanghai motor show, would be introduced to Australia.

“At this stage, in Australia we continue to monitor the market for interest in the segment,” they said. “Our focus is currently on the HS and the popular SUV segment, which resonates with our customer base.

“The MG6 PLUS was an important part of our arrival into Australia in 2016, and along with the MG3 manual, helped us emerge into the market. Through listening to our customers, we’ve since evolved our product range to focus on the popular MG3 Auto hatchback, as well as our SUVs – the MG ZS and MG GS – as a popular model sector in this market.”

So far this year, MG has sold just 110 examples of the MG6 Plus, a 66.3 per cent drop over the same period last year, in the sub-$40,000 small car segment that has shrunk 17.9 per cent to 119,040 units after nine months of trading.

As for the GS, the MG spokesperson said the manual Vivid variant was used to test the appetite for three-pedal options.

“The MG GS Vivid has a manual transmission, therefore it had a limited production run within this market, where it served as a test-bed to understand market desire for manual variants,” he said.

Last year, MG revealed the HS mid-size SUV in China, which is earmarked to come to Australia as the next GS, possibly by year’s end if production timing of the right-hand-drive version works out.

While the base Vivid was the cheapest GS at $23,990 driveaway, MG has also lowered the price of the remaining three variants, the Core, Excite and Essence X, by $500 each to $25,490, $27,490 and $33,490 respectively.

MG Motor Australia’s sales are up 203.8 per cent to 5975 units so far in 2019, breaking into the top 20 brands for the first time. MG Motor Australia’s sales are up 203.8 per cent to 5975 units so far in 2019, breaking into the top 20 brands for the first time.

Sales of the GS have picked up by 26.7 per cent this year to 299 units.

Across the line-up, MG has also dropped the price of its ZS Excite Plus small SUV by $1500 to $23,490 driveaway, explained by the MG spokesperson as always “ensuring our models are competitively priced”.

As for the facelifted ZS that was shown earlier this year in Chengdu in August, the spokesperson said: “We’re reviewing the appetite within this market, and are in discussions regarding the business case for the model in this market.”

However, as the second most-popular model in the MG stable with 2713 year-to-date sales (+135.7%) and competing in the booming small SUV segment, it is expected that the new ZS will make it to Australian showrooms at some point in the future.

Finally, MG Motor Australia’s fourth and final model, the MG3 small hatchback, is the brand’s most popular, racking up 2853 new registrations.

Overall, MG Motor Australia’s sales are up 203.8 per cent to 5975 units so far in 2019, breaking into the top 20 brands for the first time and outselling Jeep (4365), Renault (5942) and Skoda (5255).

MG also offers a seven year/unlimited kilometre warranty with roadside assist across all new models.