Exclusive: Chinese MG launch imminent

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Exclusive: Chinese MG launch imminent

Date
January 31, 2013 - 1:28PM


Morris Garages to return to Australia around Easter as Sydney dealership takes shape.




Sydney's MG franchise will be on a former Rick Damelian car yard on Parramatta Road. <i>Photo: Matt Campbell</i>
The future MG dealership was empty just a few weeks ago. <i>Photo Matt Campbell</i>

Australia is set to see the return of MG cars. The venerable British brand – now owned and built by Chinese conglomerate Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) – has confirmed exclusively to Drive that it will launch in Australia around Easter 2013.

The company's local distributors Longwell Motor would not comment when asked about when the cars will go on sale, and confirmed the brand's dealership in Sydney, at one of the former Rick Damelian showrooms on Parramatta Road, is not trading yet.

However, Xiaomin Xi, head of right-hand-drive markets for SAIC, told Drive that the brand will launch over the Easter weekend.

Xi says the distributors and the head office are working closely with existing owners and enthusiasts via the MG car club, stating the launch event will take place on the back of the club's national meeting in Toowoomba, Queensland, on the last weekend of March.
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Xi says the company is working to add dealers in Brisbane and Newcastle, and confirmed that the brand will initially only offer the MG6 sedan and hatchback.

Drive has learnt that the MG6 will be sold as a sedan and a hatchback, with power coming from a turbocharged 1.8-litre engine producing 118kW of power and 215Nm of torque. A five-speed manual transmission is standard.

According to the MG UK website, the 6 can sprint from 0-100km/h in 8.4 seconds, and Drive spotted official fuel-use stickers on the windscreens of the cars which stated a combined claimed consumption figure of 7.5L/100km and emissions of 174g/km CO2.

The MG6 is about the size of a Mazda3 sedan at just over 4.6 metres long and 1.8m wide, and has a class-competitive boot size of 498 litres.

It's not clear what safety gear the MG6 will come with as standard. Drive understands it will be offered with dual front airbags only, though the MG UK site suggests all models have six airbags (dual front, front-side and full-length curtains), as well as stability control – the latter making the car viable for sale in Victoria, which has banned all passenger cars without the potentially life-saving technology from sale.

There's no indication yet what price the MG6 will attract, but the car recently launched in New Zealand at $NZ29,990 ($24,055), undercutting rivals such as the Toyota Corolla by $NZ4500 and the VW Golf by $NZ9000. Expect the MG6 to do a similar job of undercutting local rivals such as the Corolla (which starts here at $19,990 plus on-road costs).

“MG6 is a brilliant car although it is not like the traditional two door convertible TF,” Xi says. “At the beginning we [will only] offer manual transmission and we hope the market will perceive it as a car with driving fun and enjoy the steering control.”

Xi confirmed the brand will launch the smaller MG3 later in 2013, which is described as attractive looking, and “equivalent to the size of a Ford Fiesta [but with] more space".

“The models we will launch in Australia are the models which passed EU homologation, which guarantee the quality and emission,” Xi says.

MG's glitzy showroom, with prominent MG and Morris Garages signage, is currently adorned with several examples of the brand's MG6 mid-size sedan, while an adjoining car park is full to the brim.

Drive approached a number of workers who were running checks on the cars, but none would answer our questions.

Drive's New Zealand arm has driven the new MG6, and our man based in the Land of the Long White Cloud, Dave Moore, said he was "pleasantly surprised".

With David McCowen
http://brisbanetimes.drive.com.au/mo...131-2dmi6.html