Australia has a new member of its highly exclusive cheapest new car club with the news that MG has dropped the price of its MG3 Vibe to $19,990 driveaway courtesy of a $1000 cashback offer. Unlike other similar discounts, this one is applied to the original sale price rather than after the vehicle has been purchased.

The MG3 Vibe was the brand’s cheapest car on the Aussie market when it launched last May priced from $21,990 driveaway. BYD dropped the driveaway price of the Atto 1 by a stunning $4000 on September 15.

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The cuts from both brands come after the Chinese government warned carmakers not to get embroiled in price wars in overseas markets to avoid the sort of behaviour that could lead to the imposition of tariffs to combat anti-competitive behaviour.

MG’s offer runs until the end of September and covers new and selected demonstrator cars, but it cannot be combined with other discounts from the brand or redeemed for cash. The offer doesn’t apply to government, rental or hire sales. 

The savings don’t stop there, either. MG is offering customers $2000 cashback on the MG4 EV Urban Essence 43, dropping its price to $29,990. The same applies to the MG4 EV Urban Essence 54, which is now $32,990. Cashbacks of $500 are also going for the MG3 Excite Hybrid+ and MG3 Essence Hybrid+.

Despite its ultra-low price, the MG3 Vibe comes well equipped with standard features like autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance and a front centre airbag.

It’s powered by the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine as the other petrol models in MG’s range, delivering 81kW and 142Nm. The MG3 Vibe is quite frugal with a claimed 6.0l/100km on the combined cycle, and its features also include a 7.0-inch digital driver’s display, 10.25-inch touchscreen and driver attention monitoring.