A shipload of MGs for Australia

MG MOTOR Australia is literally selling vehicles by the shipload, having filled the entire manifest of the Primrose Ace car carrier with 4800 of its Chinese-made hatchbacks and SUVs.

It is the first time the brand has occupied a whole ship with vehicles bound for Australia and car-carrying vessels usually contain a mixture of manufacturers.

Nevertheless, the Primrose Ace vessel docked at Port Kembla near Sydney on July 13 having departed Shanghai Harbour in late June after spending two days loading its cargo of MGs.

The shipment contributes to around 11,000 MGs that have landed in Australia since the beginning of June this year.

Vehicles onboard the 17,000-tonne, 200-metre-long ship were petrol and electric versions of the ZS small SUV including the ZST range-topper, the MG3 small hatch and HS medium SUV – including the plug-in hybrid version.

In 2020 a shipment of this size would have provided almost enough cars to satisfy MG demand in Australia for the first half of the year, but the brand has grown substantially since, selling almost an entire Primrose Ace worth of stock last month alone.

Year-to-date MG sales were up 240.4 per cent to June 30, with 19,544 reported deliveries.

The MG3 dominates the light passenger car segment with a 29 per cent share so far this year, pushing the Toyota Yaris to a distant second with a 13 per cent slice of the pie.

In the small SUV segment the MG ZS has edged the Hyundai Kona out of the top spot, too, with 9093 units year-to-date earning it a 13.3 per cent share.

However, the strangle-hold of the busy medium SUV segment held by Toyota’s RAV4 and the Mazda CX-5 is undiminished by the MG HS that has managed a 4.2 per cent share year-to-date, although sales of that model appear to be accelerating.

MG fully intends to stay among the top-10 best-selling car brands in Australia, which it achieved in February, March, April and June this year.

“Australian new car buyers appreciate value and choice, and we are grateful for our customers’ continued support,” said MG Motor Australia and New Zealand CEO Peter Ciao.

The company plans to keep expanding its product range in Australia, with more models – especially electric ones – in the pipeline.

Among these are the Marvel R electric SUV and the production version of MG’s Cyberster electric sports-car concept – both of which are of interest to the Australian operation but yet to be confirmed.

The MG5 Electric station wagon is less likely for this market given the growing preference toward SUVs.