MG becomes a top-10 brand in Australia

A motoring sleeping giant has awoken in Australia, with Chinese-owned MG entering the Australian top 10 sales chart for the first time after strong February sales.

MG had 5425 year-to-date sales at the end of February, which was enough to overtake Honda to become a top-10 brand for the year so far.

More than half of those sales (3017) were in February, making MG the eighth most popular brand for the month ahead of Volkswagen (3009) and Subaru (2639).

Apart from the fact it’s still an emerging brand, MG’s success is remarkable as it only has three models on sale here including the ZS small SUV, which makes up almost half its sales (2555 registered so far in 2021).

The ZS is the second best-selling small SUV so far this year, sitting between the Hyundai Kona (2414) and long-reigning Mitsubishi ASX (2767).

MG Motor Australia’s CEO, Peter Ciao said the company is humbled to make it into the top 10.

“This is a momentous milestone for MG in Australia – and it’s all because of our customers. MG is built on the premise of listening to our customers first and foremost.

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MG HS medium SUV

“MG owners have put their trust in our brand and our products, and this is an honour and a privilege we will not take for granted. We are proud to offer Australians another choice, and they have responded.”

MG is symbolic of the quick rise of Chinese brands in the Australian market.

So far in 2021, 9211 Chinese-made cars were imported to Australia and registered, compared to 3649 for the same period last year. Chinese cars are the fourth most popular, behind Japan, Korea and Thailand and ahead of Germany (6448).

This also reflects growth for MG's compatriot brands including GWM (which includes Haval) with 1637 sales and LDV (1682) which are up 588 per cent and 358 per cent respectively, compared to the same period last year.