MG electric car range to double with new Atto 3, Model Y rivals for Australia
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The Cyberster roadster and MG 4 hatch are set to be followed into showrooms by a wave of new battery-powered MGs, including near-$100,000 luxury cars.
MG is preparing to double its electric-car line-up in 2025 with four new models – three of which will be new names to showrooms – including six-figure luxury cars pitched at high-end brands.
The MG 4 was Australia's top-selling electric vehicle last month after significant discounts cutting up to $10,000 off the price, while the brand has also launched the $115,000 Cyberster electric roadster.
MG's electric range is set to grow next year with a successor to the ZS EV, as well as a new mid-size electric SUV, and a pair of luxury-priced models from sister brand IM Motors in parent company SAIC's home market.
It will give the brand one of the broadest electric-car line-ups in Australia, ahead of the four confirmed EVs BYD will sell next year – though additional models are coming – as well as Tesla's two, Hyundai's five, Kia's five, and BMW's seven.
“If you want a good-priced car – ICE [pure petrol or diesel] – MG will have seven models based on ICE,” MG Motor Australia CEO Peter Ciao told local media.
“If you love hybrid or plug-in hybrid, we will have five models. If you want EV, we will have seven models. MG is the only brand with everything – every technology we provide lots of options.”
First to launch will be a small SUV sold in MG's home market known as the ES5, due in the second quarter of the year (April to June).
Unlike the ZS EV it succeeds, the ES5 – or S5, as it has also been referenced overseas – is based on the MG 4 and Cyberster's dedicated 'MSP' electric-car platform, rather than the chassis of a petrol-powered model.
Overseas, it is powered by a single 125kW rear electric motor and a choice of 49.1kWh and 62.2kWh battery packs for up to 525km of driving range in CLTC lab testing, which is less stringent than Europe's WLTP protocols.
It packs a more advanced interior than the MG 4, with larger 15.6-inch infotainment and 10.25-inch instrument displays, heated and ventilated leather seats, and a panoramic sunroof in top-of-the-range models.
MORE: 2025 MG ES5 electric SUV revealed as ZS EV successor, Australian plans unclear
Due sometime in 2025 is a mid-size electric MG SUV designed to take on the Tesla Model Y, Kia EV5 and a growing fleet of rivals.
It is the successor to the MG Marvel R, a similarly-sized electric SUV sold in Europe – but never made available in right-hand drive for Australia.
Unlike its forebear, it will be designed as an MG from the ground up, rather than for Roewe, another brand in the sprawling SAIC Motor group.
Details of this model are yet to be confirmed, but it has been spied testing on multiple occasions in Australia, and its production design has recently emerged in patent images overseas.
MORE: 2025 MG Marvel R electric SUV: New Model Y rival spied in Australia
Its name is also yet to be announced. There is a chance the number in the ES5/S5 name could reference its size, and that it would spawn a fleet of S-badged MG electric SUVs.
Arguably MG's most ambitious new electric model launch of 2025 will be two models from IM Motors, another SAIC brand, which are pitched as luxury cars sold at much higher price points.
The IM Motors range includes four models – two sedans and two SUVs – but Australia will receive the smaller versions of each, the L6 sedan and LS6 SUVs, as the larger L7 and LS7 are “too huge”, Ciao said.
MORE: MG Australia eyes luxury Tesla Model Y rival, $100,000 sports cars
Still, the L6 and LS6 are close to five metres long – the former similar to a BMW i5 or Tesla Model S in size, and the latter akin to an Audi Q8 e-tron or Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, both with five seats.
It is yet to be determined if they will be sold locally as MGs, or will debut the IM badge in Australia.
“I’m still negotiating with Shanghai. SAIC Motor is a giant group, it’s huge, and every brand is independent in China. The model will be coming, 100 per cent. But what badge, this [we are] still negotiating,” Ciao told media.
In Europe, the cars will be sold under the IM brand.
In their home market, prices range from ¥219,900 to ¥345,900 ($AU47,000 to $AU73,000) for the sedan, and ¥239,900 to ¥302,900 ($AU51,000 to $AU64,000) for the SUV.
Given a middle-of-the-range MG 4 costs ¥163,800 ($AU34,700) in its home market – compared to about $45,000 in Australia – they are unlikely to be as affordable locally, with Australian versions also expected to carry more equipment as standard.
An RRP range of $65,000 to $95,000 for the L6 sedan – and $70,000 to $85,000 for the LS6 SUV – would see MG go head-to-head with, and in fact cost more than, the Tesla Model Y ($55,900 to $82,900).
Top-of-the-range versions overseas develop 579kW from dual electric motors good for 0-100km/h in a claimed 2.74 seconds in the sedan – or 3.48sec in the SUV – while a 100kWh battery is available, running at 900 volts.
Driving ranges of up to 850km in CLTC lab testing are claimed for 100kWh models, with reports claiming IM will soon introduce a new semi-solid-state 133kWh battery capable of a 1000km range.
More details of MG’s new IM Motors range are planned to be confirmed closer to their 2025 launch.
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