SHANGHAI AUTO SHOW: It's a new MG! But not as we know it
British brand could make a local comeback with Chinese-made hatchMG, the now Chinese-owned British institution, has started on its road to recovery -- and could return to Australia within a few years.
The company unveiled the MG Concept 5 at Auto Shanghai yesterday -- a precursor to a hatchback designed to take-on the Volkswagen Golf and new Ford Focus.
Although it was only a motor show tease it is the clearest sign yet the maker is going to be transformed into a premium brand designed to challenge the establishment.
According to the global design director for SAIC motors, Anthony Williams-Kenny, the MG Concept 5 is "the first steps of a fashionable, youthful trend for the MG brand".
When asked if it might mean a comeback for MG in Australia, he said: "This is a global car."
When asked when MG was going to revive its sports-car heritage, he said: "Give us time. For now, it's about getting excitement and sustainability back into the brand with a new range of hatchbacks."
He said the Mini had a sporty image and yet it doesn't make convertibles.
MG is saying little about the Concept 5 -- it didn't even show the interior. But the car is close to production, and likely to be built in China within the next two years.
Given that it will be made in right-hand-drive for the British market, it opens the doors to re-introduce MG in Australia.
The MG Concept 5 is about the same size as a Toyota Corolla hatch and will be powered by a small-capacity four-cylinder petrol engine.
The concept car was made a MG's design studio in the UK, with input from designers at SAIC in China.
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