MG looks to turn MG 3 hatch hybrid in bid for lower emissions while keeping the price sharp.
MG’s replacement for the MG3 hatchback is due to launch before the end of 2024 and it will continue to use a petrol engine, with a hybrid drivetrain highly likely.
The current MG3 is the smallest and cheapest car the Chinese car maker sells in Australia, sitting below the MG ZS small SUV (also available as an electric vehicle) and MG HS SUV. However, it is the second-best seller with 13,435 units sold year-to-date, according to October 2022 VFACTS data. That’s just behind the MG ZS (16,359) and well ahead of the MG HS (9,097). MG was the 7th biggest-selling brand to the end of October VFACTS figures show.
As new models come, MG is focusing more on electric power with the launch of the launch of the MG 4, a compact hatchback and rival to the Nissan Leaf and VW ID 3. The brand also sells the electric version of the ZS and a plug-in hybrid version of the HS.
However the number don’t stack up to convert the MG3 to electric power, hence its continuation as a combustion engine model, UK commercial director Guy Pigounakis, told Automotive Daily Network partner Autocar.
“Developing a small electric car is only marginally cheaper than developing a bigger car,” he said. “Then half the price is battery so it becomes a £25,000 ($44,000) car which is unaffordable”.
The current MG3 is the oldest model in the brand’s Australian range and is on its third facelift since being revealed in China back in 2011. Adding a hybrid system is likely to increase the price again, but should keep it competitively priced as the battery is much smaller than a PHEV hybrid vehicle.
Nick Gibbs