MG's new premium EVs may not be MGs for long
Established over four years ago as a joint venture between SAIC Motor and the Alibaba Group, with the latter providing much of the software, IM Motors sits above MG, LDV/Maxus and Roewe in the SAIC Motor empire.
But in Australia, the brand is being launched as more of a sub-brand, officially titled IM Presented by MG Motor. The two IM vehicles are being sold as the MG IM5 and MG IM6, and even feature an MG Motor badge on their tailgates.
Selling them in MG showrooms – where they won't be the only premium product anyway, following the launch of the Cyberster – allows the company to bring them in at a more tempting price.
CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
'From my point of view, every coin has two sides. If we want to build the brand independently, we have a calculation – maybe each car, we'll add extra, maybe 10 to 15,000 AUD for the car because you need to build the showroom, you need to hire the sales consultants, you need to build the stock, all the things,' said Xu Chenyang, IM Motors Area General Manager for Australia.
By leveraging MG's existing dealer network, then, the company can bring vehicles to market at a more affordable price.
'From my point of view, it's the best choice for the customer,' said Mr Xu.
But that doesn't meet IM vehicles will be sold in MG showrooms forever. There's already talk of separating the brand. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
'IM in Australia, and [MG Motor Australia CEO Peter Ciao] wants for the future, is a separate brand. Just in the very beginning, we're in the same showroom, with the sales volume for a while. He's willing to separate into two networks,' said Mr Xu, stopping short of confirming the specific sales targets the IM5 and IM6 need to meet for this to happen.
'It's just like the very beginning [of] Lexus and Toyota, sometimes they are also in the same showroom, but when the sales volumes [went up] they separated.'
Another comparison can be drawn, this time with Hyundai's Genesis brand. Initially, Hyundai sold a vehicle called the Genesis, before it established Genesis as a standalone brand; that Hyundai Genesis sedan subsequently became the Genesis G80.
Mr Xu said in China, where IM has a separate dealer network, its biggest competitors are Tesla and Zeekr. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
But while Tesla is reaching further downmarket, IM doesn't plan to encroach on the territory of other SAIC Motor brands.
'In China, IM normally sells above 200,000 RMB [A$43,000]. MG is around 100,000 RMB [A$21,500],' said Mr Xu.
In addition to the mid-size IM5 liftback and IM6 SUV – sold there as the L6 and LS6 – IM Motors has the larger L7 sedan and LS7 SUV in China.
These will be joined later this year by the LS9, the brand's largest SUV yet and its first extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) with a petrol engine used as a generator.
The LS6 is also receiving a facelift and gaining an EREV powertrain.
'In the end of this year, we'll release the LS9 and new LS6. These are also above 200,000 RMB. So we don't have the plan to lower the brand positioning right now, because the SAIC group has got all the other brands,' said Mr Xu. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert
ABOVE: IM LS9, facelifted LS6
'IM's positioning is above 200,000 RMB for our group's strategy.'
Could we see some of these other models in local showrooms?
'We already launched some new models, but it depends on the CEO for MG, because once you import one car, you pay a lot for homologation and for ANCAP and for the modifications for right-hand drive. So it depends on Peter's decision whether he wants to import more IMs to this market,' said Mr Xu.
He said he believed EREVs would be suitable for Australia, but these new vehicles haven't been signed off for Australia.
Both the IM5 and IM6 start at $60,990 drive-away. The smaller Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, in contrast, start at $54,900 and $58,900 before on-road costs.
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It's a bit hard to tell due to the lighting, but the evaluation vehicle appears to have a dark green interior. MG also offers a rich red interior, as well as a more conservative black. "Some of the colourful interiors are very colourful. We're working through that at the moment, but I don't think we will launch some of the colourful ones that they have over there," MG Motor Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher told CarExpertearlier this year. "With a lot of these things, they look amazing. But most people will end up defaulting to something sensible, unfortunately. "But some of them do look cool. So always, we'll look at it. We consider it. I think we'll have a go at a couple and bring in a couple of alternate colours." The box of Kleenex on the rear parcel shelf gives us Toyota Camry Uber vibes, but the MG 7 won't be offered here with the kind of thrifty hybrid powertrain rideshare drivers love. Instead, the MG 7's sportier positioning will see it offered exclusively with petrol power. We'll miss out on the turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine available in China and instead get only the larger 2.0-litre turbo four… but there's a catch. Government certification documents published in June list a power output of 170kW from the MG 7's 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, which is mated with a nine-speed automatic transmission. These documents don't list torque figures. In China, MG 7s with the 2.0-litre engine produce 192kW and 405Nm but, unusually, the mid-sizer's outputs vary from market to market. In the UAE, for example, it produces 184kW and 405Nm. The 170kW output suggests the MG 7 could produce the same 370Nm of torque as MG HS mid-size SUVs equipped with the 2.0-litre engine in markets like the UAE. It's not the only MG model to be detuned for export markets, with MG QS large SUV producing 153kW/360Nm – down from 178kW/392Nm in the related Roewe RX9 in China. 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It has also replaced the ZS EV small electric SUV with the MG S5 EV, while next year it'll add a new mid-size electric SUV in the MG S6 EV. The MG 7 will mark the first time MG has offered a passenger car this size in Australia since it came under Chinese ownership, and it's effectively a belated successor for the old British MG ZT sedan. MG isn't expecting high volumes with its first mid-sizer in Australia. "We think it will resonate well in Australia. Again, we're not chasing Camry volume with it. It's a performance fastback sedan that looks epic, so we believe there's a place for it, so we're gonna have a go," MG Motor Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher told CarExpert in March. "People buy sedans if they're, I suppose, practical enough for them. Or the flipside is, are they design cool? We believe ours is practical and design cool." 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Images shared by CarExpert reader Lindsay show the mid-size MG 7 liftback in a parking lot in Canberra. And for those who love paint colours, there's good news – this evaluation vehicle is finished in the rich metallic green offered in China, suggesting this hue will be offered locally. The MG 7 is also offered with black, grey, white and red exterior finishes in China. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. What remains to be seen is whether the bold interior colours offered in China will also make their way here. It's a bit hard to tell due to the lighting, but the evaluation vehicle appears to have a dark green interior. MG also offers a rich red interior, as well as a more conservative black. "Some of the colourful interiors are very colourful. We're working through that at the moment, but I don't think we will launch some of the colourful ones that they have over there," MG Motor Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher told CarExpertearlier this year. "With a lot of these things, they look amazing. But most people will end up defaulting to something sensible, unfortunately. "But some of them do look cool. So always, we'll look at it. We consider it. I think we'll have a go at a couple and bring in a couple of alternate colours." The box of Kleenex on the rear parcel shelf gives us Toyota Camry Uber vibes, but the MG 7 won't be offered here with the kind of thrifty hybrid powertrain rideshare drivers love. Instead, the MG 7's sportier positioning will see it offered exclusively with petrol power. We'll miss out on the turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine available in China and instead get only the larger 2.0-litre turbo four… but there's a catch. Government certification documents published in June list a power output of 170kW from the MG 7's 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, which is mated with a nine-speed automatic transmission. These documents don't list torque figures. In China, MG 7s with the 2.0-litre engine produce 192kW and 405Nm but, unusually, the mid-sizer's outputs vary from market to market. In the UAE, for example, it produces 184kW and 405Nm. The 170kW output suggests the MG 7 could produce the same 370Nm of torque as MG HS mid-size SUVs equipped with the 2.0-litre engine in markets like the UAE. It's not the only MG model to be detuned for export markets, with MG QS large SUV producing 153kW/360Nm – down from 178kW/392Nm in the related Roewe RX9 in China. The approval documents list a pair of trim levels for the MG 7, both riding on 19-inch alloy wheels. Available features in China, depending on the variant, include an electronic limited-slip differential, adaptive dampers, an adaptive three-stage electric rear wing, an augmented-reality head-up display, 14-speaker Bose sound system, 256-colour ambient lighting, and heated and power-adjustable front seats. Inside, all MG 7s feature a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster situated in the same assembly. The launch of the MG 7 is part of an ambitious lineup expansion as MG looks to become a top three brand by the end of the decade. This year alone, it has launched a pair of more premium electric vehicles (the IM5 liftback and IM6 SUV) and a large three-row SUV (the QS), with a ute (the U9) to follow by year's end. It has also replaced the ZS EV small electric SUV with the MG S5 EV, while next year it'll add a new mid-size electric SUV in the MG S6 EV. The MG 7 will mark the first time MG has offered a passenger car this size in Australia since it came under Chinese ownership, and it's effectively a belated successor for the old British MG ZT sedan. MG isn't expecting high volumes with its first mid-sizer in Australia. "We think it will resonate well in Australia. Again, we're not chasing Camry volume with it. It's a performance fastback sedan that looks epic, so we believe there's a place for it, so we're gonna have a go," MG Motor Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher told CarExpert in March. "People buy sedans if they're, I suppose, practical enough for them. Or the flipside is, are they design cool? We believe ours is practical and design cool." The number of combustion-powered medium-to-large passenger cars offered in Australia by mass-market brands has shrunk dramatically in recent years. There are now just five: the Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Skoda Octavia and Superb, and Toyota Camry. 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