MG 3 News

For the past two years Chinese car brands seemed to be in the fast lane to sales success — but it looks like at least one brand has hit the brakes.The latest new car sales data, released for January, shows further decline for MG to start 2026 after suffering a significant 18.4 per cent sales drop in 2025. The formerly British brand still held onto its place in the top 10, but will need a quick turnaround to maintain that as the year progresses.Business Director for MG Motor Australia Kevin Gannon said: "A challenging market across the industry makes our upward movement in ranking hard fought. January results reflect how MG Motor is entering 2026 with a great expanded product line up suited to local needs, we've been here for 10 years, we're planning for the next 10 years and more, and that we're fully committed to being the brand of choice of Australian drivers this year."The 2025 result was particularly notable given the brand’s aggressive product expansion last year, with the new-generation HS and MG3 as well as the all-new QS and S5 SUVs plus the much-hyped U9 ute. On top of this, there was the launch of the IM Motors sub-brand, which adds its sales to MG’s total.Former MG Australia boss Peter Ciao, had high expectations, telling CarsGuide in April last year that he was anticipating around 60,000 sales thanks to the expanded line-up. In the end the brand finished with 41,298.The January results show major year-on-year declines for the MG3 (down 38.6%), MG4 (down 63.9%) and MG5 (down 91.4%). The good news for the brand is both the HS (up 38.5%) and ZS (up 4.5%) remain popular with buyers.However, the problem for the brand appears to be the acceptance of its new models. The QS in particular has struggled to make a major impact in the large SUV segment, finishing 2025 with just 1023 sales, compared to the most popular model in the class, the Ford Everest, which sold more than 26,000 units.The U9 also failed to make a major difference to MG’s Australian hopes, despite getting to market quickly and with a competitive price. It averaged just 157 sales per month after going on sale in October, well below the most popular models in the segment.Ciao’s aspirations of MG becoming a top three brand in the country appear to be on the backburner for now, with new management set to be installed following this sales slide.MG parent company, SAIC Motor International (SMIL), announced in early January that Quing Zhang, currently the Vice President of SMIL will add CEO of MG Australia and New Zealand to his responsibilities, replacing Ciao. He will not be based at the company’s Sydney office however, instead Felix Jiang has been appointed as Senior Vice President for Australia and New Zealand and will be based here to lead the day-to-day operations.“SAIC Motor has established an excellent footing in the ANZ market over the past decade, and we now look forward with great excitement to fuelling our next phase of growth by introducing innovative products that deeply resonate with and meet local demands,” Zhang said at the time of his appointment.A leadership change is typical when a brand fails to reach its sales targets, and doesn’t negate the work that Ciao did in the eight years he led the local operation. But it is clear that MG is headed in the wrong direction on the sales charts so something needed to change.Whether or not the brand can recover in time, or will now have to play a supporting role behind the more popular Chinese brands — BYD, GWM and Chery — remains to be seen.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has published its latest round of safety scores and the two vehicles included are re-tested versions of popular hatchbacks based on testing conducted by Euro NCAP.

It’s no secret times are tough. The cost of living is sky high and cars don’t seem to be getting any cheaper. 

A short 15 years ago, the Hyundai Getz was available for as little as $12,990 drive-away, but the cheap end of the new-car market has nearly evaporated today. 

It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of new-model releases. Lately, product cycles have been getting ever shorter with China in particular’s immense speed of design, development and production eschewing traditional carmakers' usual six, seven or eight-year model replacements.But that doesn’t mean everyone wants the latest and greatest and, in Australia, there remains a huge appetite for familiar nameplates like the Mazda CX-3, MG3 and Nissan Patrol despite fresher models being available in the same class. In fact, until this year, the now nine-year-old Toyota HiLux has dominated sales charts. It’s taken the ‘T6.2’ Ford Ranger over a year to usurp Toyota’s ute despite its much newer cabin, more powerful engines and fresher tech. Even still, the Ranger held a slim 210 sale margin over the HiLux in May. It’s a little easier to imagine how ute buyers – those after a dependable, rugged vehicle with less concern for the latest and greatest – might be less interested in buying the newest model.Though the media expected the CX-30 to become Mazda’s new entry-level SUV, the plan all along was to sell them side by side. At 10 years old, the CX-3 is no spring chicken any more yet with 1300 sales in may it remains firmly ahead of the Yaris Cross and Hyundai Venue in the light SUV class. It is, amazingly, still more popular than the CX-30 (1010 sales in May) as well. Entry-level Pure leads the way as a first-car option that is bigger than a Mazda2 but not unwieldy. Safety features like AEB and collision warning feature and the CX-3 is a known quantity for both reliability and parts availability. MG is finally replacing the MG3 as it celebrates its 13th year on sale – such age is very rare in cars from China. In its final 31 days in dealerships as a ‘new’ model, 1077 MG3s were registered. This puts it leagues ahead of the Mazda2 and Toyota Yaris. The same vintage Mitsubishi ASX may not be quite as popular as a CX-3 (842 sales in May) though like the others in this list, the ASX is having a bumper year of over 5000 sales – up nearly 30 per cent on 2023. Nissan sold 622 Patrol off-roaders last month for 3274 year-to-date. That may be less than half of Toyota’s LandCruiser 300 Series volume but when you consider the basic design is 14 years old (and therefore cost is long since amortised), Nissan is doing very well. Like ASX, the Patrol’s sales are up for 2024 as well, by an impressive 46.3 per cent. Put that down to demand for the new rough-and-tumble Warrior model. We couldn’t write this article and ignore the oldest car on sale today in Australia. Celebrating its 40th year in production and continuing to sell incredibly is the 70 Series LandCruiser range. An iconic vehicle for Australians who buy more of these things than any other nation – mining fleet is a huge part but a renewed popularity with the off-road crowd helps, too.Toyota’s old fourby may not get another ANCAP test any time soon but the new four-cylinder turbo-diesel will extend its sales life further as emissions regulations take hold. There were 1096 sales of the LandCruiser 70 Series in May for a total of 5030 this year, not including Troop Carrier body styles. Its enduring popularity is unlikely to end soon, either, with the new downsized diesel carrying the ageing Toyota into its next decade of sales.

The next-gen MG3 hatch has been revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, with the brand’s local arm locking in a mid-year launch for the budget-friendly hatchback.

MG has released sketch images of the interior of the new MG3 hatch that is set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in late February.

The little affordable hatchback which put MG on the map is finally set to get a next-generation version, but will it be as cheap as before?

In line with ANCAP’s six-year lifespan for its new vehicle safety assessment ratings, more than 25 vehicles currently on sale in the Australian new car market were reclassified as ‘Unrated’ on January 1, 2024, many previously carrying a maximum five-star rating.

One of the fastest-growing brands in recent Australian automotive history, MG, is set for a big year in 2024 as entirely new models and updated versions of a few of its models are on the cusp of a 2024 launch.