MG6 arrives in New Zealand

MG on the rise as MG6 model in production



We may not be able to buy new MGs in New Zealand, but if you're going to Britain any time soon, Avis can rent you one while you're there.

It's expected that the now Chinese-owned MG company will be re-introducing the brand to New Zealand some time this year, but details of who, when and which cars are being considered are still a little sketchy.

MG Motors is based in Birmingham, England, along with Chinese company SAIC's European Technical Engineering Centre (SMTC) and they jointly employ 400 people in automotive styling, design, engineering, manufacturing and support services.

The MG6 GT sports fastback and MG6 Magnette sports sedan are both designed and engineered in Britain at MG Birmingham, where final assembly also takes place.

Avis Rent a Car has taken delivery of 100 MG6 GT fastbacks and MG6 Magnette sports saloons. It is the first order of its kind for MG.

The cars will be put on Avis' national car hire fleet and customers will soon be able to hire them for business trips, holidays and other journeys.

Both the MG6 GT fastback and the MG6 Magnette sports saloons are powered by 1.8-litre turbocharged engines.

The cars offer comfort and space for five adults and judging from reports from British colleagues, offer the kind of MG driving dynamics we've become used to.

The MG6 is the first all-new MG in 16 years, and customer car No 1 came off the final assembly line in the car assembly building at the firm's plant at MG Birmingham, marking the start of a new era in the 87-year history of the MG brand.

It was driven off the line by Lisa Ponter, the only woman working on the production line.

Three trim models of the 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol MG6 are available with prices ranging in Britain from about NZ$40,000 to NZ$51,000.

The MG6 GT offers a comprehensive list of standard equipment, including 18-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, iTPMS tyre pressure monitoring, leather sports seats, rear view parking camera with front and rear reversing aids, driver and front passenger electric seat adjustment, heated front seats, automatic dual-zone air conditioning, electronic rain sensing wipers, a built-in full colour display sat nav system, RDS radio, CD player, MP3, USB, Aux-in capability and Bluetooth mobile phone integration.

In time for the next northern hemisphere summer, two new MG sports cars are being launched: the affordable MG TF 135 and a model to mark the 85th anniversary of the brand, the MG TF 85th anniversary

patpending wrote:Well well well!

Nothing stands in the way of the land of "Caution: Left Hand Drive Test Car" now!

After the collapse and sale of MG Rover, we thought we would never see new MGs here again. So it is good news that we will be seeing the brand in showrooms in the next month or so, as the MGB celebrates its 50th birthday.

Our MGs will be sourced from China for reasons of cost and transportation, and the importer, British Motor Distributors, is expecting delivery through the Port of Auckland this weekend of examples of its MG6 GT, while the upcoming MG5 and MG3 should appear later in the year, although in each case there is a wait for automatic transmissions.

The MG6 GT is here for evaluation by dealers and potential dealers as well as journalists.

The specific dealer lineup has not yet been finalised, says Kerry Cheyne, operations manager at British Motor Distributors, but there will be a lineup of at least three model ranges when things start to move for MG in New Zealand.

The MG6/Magnette model is a C/D-sized car and was the first all- new MG to appear since the Rover Group's sale of the MG and Rover brands to the Nanjing Automobile Group in 2005. The Nanjing Automobile Group was taken over by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation in 2007.

The MG6 GT is a five-door hatchback, launched in Britain in the middle of last year. Ours will have 118kW turbocharged TCI- Tech 1.8-litre engines, and a turbo diesel version is due by the end of the year. Again, this is auto transmission dependent.

Likely to be the volume seller of the new MG range is the MG5, which has been seen only as a show car so far. Sized in the Focus/Corolla area, the car uses the 1.5-litre VVT engine from the Roewe 350, on which the car is based, with 80kW of power and 135Nm of torque in naturally aspirated form. A turbocharged version of the engine is also expected.

A dual clutch gearbox designed with General Motors will also reach the MG5 and this may even pervade the whole lineup before too long. The unit will be launched in the new Roewe 550 in April at the Beijing Motor Show, where the final signed-off MG5 will also appear.

The MG5, coded AP12, is just one of a series of cars based on the Roewe 350 AP platform. The AP13 light SUV and AP14 station wagon will appear soon too.

Previewed as the MG Zero concept at last year's Beijing car show, the MG3 is a Polo and Fabia-sized five-door hatch and in its Chinese home market it will have a choice of 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engines. For New Zealand, we can expect the 1.5-litre.

There is also speculation of a front-engined rear-drive small sports car to replace the mid- engined MGF/TF model.

The company has always said that it has wanted to create a new MGB for the 21st century and that car's 50th birthday this year represents perfect timing for a concept car.

It is expected that SAIC's joint- venture relationship with General Motors will lead to a new MG7 flagship model, based on the on the Opel Insignia Epsilon II platform.

The MG5, coded AP12, is just one of a series of cars based on the Roewe 350 AP platform. The AP13 light SUV and AP14 station wagon will appear soon too.

patpending wrote:

The MG5, coded AP12, is just one of a series of cars based on the Roewe 350 AP platform. The AP13 light SUV and AP14 station wagon will appear soon too.

So it's more than just pure speculation.

The AP13 is therefore not the MG3 XROSS. And an "MG5 estate"? New to me. Do we have a picture of these developments similar to the one showing the likely release months?

patpending wrote:By "more than speculation" I meant references to "the importer British Motor Distribution".

Eight MG6 liftbacks and sedans have just arrived in Auckland as demonstration cars ahead of the late-February retail rollout of MG by importers British Motor Distributors (BMD)

patpending wrote:

Eight MG6 liftbacks and sedans have just arrived in Auckland as demonstration cars ahead of the late-February retail rollout of MG by importers British Motor Distributors (BMD)

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/motoring/news/article.cfm?c_id=9&objectid=10783083

Windy wrote:

patpending wrote:

Eight MG6 liftbacks and sedans have just arrived in Auckland as demonstration cars ahead of the late-February retail rollout of MG by importers British Motor Distributors (BMD)

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/motoring/news/article.cfm?c_id=9&objectid=10783083

There are nine in the row by the ship!

The new Chinese-built MG's biggest critics are those who've never seen or driven one

Though my test car was finished in a polarising burnt orange metallic paint, I think it looks pretty darn good and another thing, it's quite possibly the smoothest, best-applied paint I've seen in years.

...

Hot: Unique liftback design; impressive ride; high equipment level; value for money; incredible paint and panel quality.

Not: Needs a tad more go; tiny main dials; fussy starting; rubbery plastics; clangy doors.

Verdict: An inexpensive sports liftback that's good enough to completely change the way we think about Chinese cars.

Windy wrote:Seems that the NewZealanders don't like soft rubbery plastics!

MG opens NZ dealer network

It’s back: MG has returned to New Zealand with the MG6 range made near Shanghai.

New Zealand MG sales launched with Chinese-made MG6 hatch and sedan

18 January 2013
By RON HAMMERTON
BORN-AGAIN British marque MG has returned to showrooms in New Zealand via a three dealer network, kicking off sales with the Chinese-made MG6 sedan and hatch.

Now owned by China’s biggest motor company, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), 80-year-old MG is set to expand its NZ offerings with the smaller MG3 light hatchback later in the year.

Dealerships in Christchurch, Wellington and Rotorua opened for MG business in December, with the first cars sold this month.

MG is being handled in NZ by British Motor Distributors (BMD), a branch of John Fairhall’s Archibald Motor Group that sells a wide range of European luxury cars such as Audi, Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo in NZ.

BMD operations manager Kerry Cheyne told GoAuto that a fourth dealership would be opened soon, adding: “The future is bright.”

The company imported eight MG6 cars about a year ago as part of its warm-up for NZ distribution, showing them off to potential dealers and journalists.

SAIC Motor has plans to expand MG to Australia where independent importer Inchcape has been mentioned as a possible contender for the MG rights alongside its existing Subaru business.

Another importer – WMC Group – is just about to launch another of SAIC’s automotive brands, LDV Vans (formerly Maxus), in Australia, where they will take on the likes of Hyundai’s iLoad and Toyota’s HiAce.

While MG cars are built in China at SAIC’s Lingang factory southeast of Shanghai, they continue to be designed and engineered at MG’s traditional Birmingham base in Britain where the MG6 is not only sold but raced in the British touring car championship by Triple Eight Racing – the same outfit that fields V8 Supercars for Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup in Australia.

Apart from China, MG cars are already sold in a wide number of countries across several regions, including the UK, Middle East, South America, Latin America, Korea and Africa.

Because the MG6 is built in right-hand drive for the UK and qualifies for Europe’s stringent safety and emissions standards, it is ideal for distribution for other right-hand-drive markets such as South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

In New Zealand, the MG6 is priced from $NZ29,990 ($A23,810) plus on-roads, in two body styles – Magnette sedan and five-door GT hatch – and three specifications – S, SE and TSE.

All are currently powered by a 118kW 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine that can propel the Holden Cruze-sized car from zero to 100km/h in about 8.5 seconds.

A new 1.9-litre diesel engine is said to be in the pipeline for the UK, and possibly NZ.

As GoAuto reported in December, MG cars are set to be built in Thailand from 2014 under a joint venture deal with that country’s CP Group, likely meaning all MGs will be shipped to Australia and NZ from the southeast Asian country, with which Australia has a free trade agreement.

The expansion will relieve pressure on SAIC’s production facilities in China, where it has just sold a record 4.49 million cars in 2012 – up 12 per cent over 2011.

SAIC has joint ventures with the two biggest foreign brands in China, General Motors and Volkswagen, but its own MG and Roewe (Rover) brands accounted for 200,000 sales, up 23 per cent year on year.

Windy wrote:Maybe reports of them being on sale were premature.

Because the MG6 is built in right-hand drive for the UK and qualifies for Europe’s stringent safety and emissions standards, it is ideal for distribution for other right-hand-drive markets such as South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

The best of British - VIA CHINA

British Motor Distributors boss Kerry Cheyne gets somewhat
tetchy when you cast aspersions over Chinese cars. For a start,
his growing range of MG product is ‘designed and engineered’
in the brand's homeland - where it is built is somewhat irrelevant.

The return of the MG brand under its new Chinese owners has
taken some time even locally the first cars arrived a year ago but now
dealers are underway, and the MG6 model is on sale for a hint under
$30 grand. AutoTalk took the opportunity to sit down with Cheyne
and take an MG6 for a spin.

AutoTalk: It seems to us it has been some time since first word
went out that the cars were coming – what has been happening?

Kerry Cheyne: We got the first cars in January last year - evaluation
cars, just to take around the country and gauge market acceptance
of them - and it was very good. They were also shown to the existing
dealers. We got more cars through the year and launched them
to the press in September, cars went to dealers in November, and
actually went on sale late December.

That is where we are today - one model, two body variants, a
saloon and a fastback, with three levels of specification and one engine.
We are in no real rush until we get more models later in the year.

AT: How did the previous MG Rover dealers react to the product?

KC: There was a really good response to the brand and the quality,
but there is an issue fitting it in with their current brands.

AT: So many have moved on to other brands?

KC: Yes. It has been a few years and their businesses have changed
over that time.

They’ve always serviced Rovers but adding a showroom for MG is
not where the business sits at the moment.

We haven’t really rushed to get dealers, we are only starting to do
that now as there is more product. We’ve had a
lot of inquiry from people who want to do it, it’s
just choosing the right person for the brand and
getting it in there

AT: So how many have you got operating so far?

KC: There’s three - Paul Wallace European MG
in Christchurch, Autohouse in Rotorua and MG
Wellington.

AT: What product is coming?

KC: Now, we have the MG6 petrol and then a
few months later we'll have the MG6 diesel and
then a couple of months on the MG3 and then,
after that ,will be the MG5. At the Shanghai Motor
Show in April they will be showing an SUV.

AT: SUVs have always been the darling of new
brands in this market, and while you are not
exactly a new brand, is the SUV key to the brand
spreading in this market?

KC: Not really, no. They are leading with their
sports car heritage, as seen with the company
already appearing in the British Touring Car
Championship. Getting the diesel into the British
market, which is the key right-hand drive market,
will boost their sales dramatically. Then obviously
here we have mediums down. The biggest sectors
are the smaller sectors so the MG5 and MG3 will
be important.

AT: British-destined MGs are final-assembled
there - where do ours come from?

KC: It all comes from Lingang, outside Shanghai,
China - and the best thing about that is it is
straight through a modern production line.
Asian production lines are supplying probably
90% of the New Zealand car market. There will
also be another plant in Thailand.

AT: Do buyers care where their car is built?

KC: I don’t know. It’s hard to say, some people do. I’d say the majority
of people now don’t. Look at how well the Korean brands have done.
Holdens are made in Korea, Hondas are made in Thailand. Everything’s
made all over the place. It’s a world market now for manufacturing.

AT: How strong do you think the MG brand still is in New Zealand.
Has it lost recognition in its time out of the market?

KC: It possibly has - we will know this year. It’s a totally different
product, it’s a cost-effective product, you’ve gone down from a
$70,000 car to a $30,000 car so the business plan is different and it is
geared to a different sector.

We had cars at Hampton Downs last week and the reception was
huge. Just looking at the statistics on our website, the response has
been great.

AT: You mentioned involvement in the BTCC earlier, will you be
getting into motorsport locally?

KC: No. We are too small to be involved in motorsport at the
moment.

AT: What are your targets?

KC: They are very small for this year. Next year we will lift them
because by then we will have multiple engines, the MG6, the MG3
and the MG5. At the moment it is just about getting the cars out
there and rebuilding the brand.

AT: Have you been promised good stock availability?

KC: Stock availability is no problem. I could order a car now and have
it here in probably 30 days.

AT: Your current range starts at $29,990. Are you planning on
undercutting the market?

KC: I think the pricing for the vehicle is well set in the market. $30,000
is an entry for a car that’s bigger than a Holden Cruze but at the price
of a Cruze – it sits between the medium and small segment. It is a
very well kitted out car.

AT: Where is the MG product developed?

KC: The SAIC Motor Corporation (MG’s parent company) technical
centre is in the UK - that is where the design engineering is done. They
have a research facility in Anting, Shanghai which has around 2000 staff,
where they develop engines, transmission and ‘new energy’ projects.

KC: Our current engine is a derivative of Rover K-Series unit. The new
diesel is their own engine, the 6-speed gearbox is their own gearbox
and they have a DCT-double c lutch transmission coming as well. The
1.5 litre engine in the MG3 is also an in-house development.

AT: What has kept British Motor Distributors alive since the collapse
of the old MG Rover?

KC: Our owner John Fairhall made a commitment to look after the
warranties of the cars we had sold - and he underwrote that. That
was not factory backing, his company totally funded those 3-4 years of
warranties that were outstanding after the 2005 collapse. From then
on we were a parts and service operation.

AT: Was it a given that you would get the new business?

KC: We chased it and they accepted the fact we had supported the
New Zealand public and were very receptive to that fact. We have
been working with them for a long time, some of the same staff from
before the collapse are the ones we deal with now. And they have
been very good people to deal with.

AT: MG parent SAIC has a number of other brands. Are there others
you want to look at?

KC: At the moment no, MG is what we are focussing on. Roewe is
the other brand that rears its head. There are other brands there that
are targeted at other markets. Roewe has just been destined as a
domestic brand. The Roewe 950 is an awesome car that would stack
up against any here but it is a domestic product, a domestic brand, so
they have no right-hand drive aspirations.

AT: Would you be happy currently to pick up the phone to dealers
interested in working with you?

KC: Of course. We have been the whole time. We will sit down and
show them the product, if they are interested and want to commit to
it we will work through it.

AT: Any particular brands you see it sitting beside on a forecourt?

KC: At the moment it may not impact on other brands, but it would
compliment a lot of other brands. You only have to look at the car
– it is a bit different, it’s going to become more and more different
as it goes along. It is starting to get its own little design line and so if
somebody is independent that would be quite good.

First impressions

Bigger than a Holden Cruze, smaller than a Ford Mondeo, the MG6
GT is a handsome looking, if a little dated, vehicle.
From the outside, build quality looks very good. Panel gaps look
tight, and the paint finish is superior to most vehicles that pass
through our carpark.

Inside, while the overall fit and finish looks good, with nice soft
touch materials, the instruments themselves look a little awkward,
particularly the fuel and engine temperature gauges, and for me,
they were a little difficult to see through the tilt and reach-adjustable
steering wheel. The handbrake was also in a difficult location. Most of
the switchgear, but particularly the steering-wheel mounted controls,
also felt cheap.

The car comes with a useful electronic control screen, and a wheel
placed twist-and select controller placed mid-dash. Sat-nav is fitted but no
maps are available for New Zealand yet. A reversing camera is standard.
The TSE we drove - priced at just under $35,000 - was fitted with
extremely comfortable and well-sized for Kiwi blokes, leather seats.

The sole engine choice is a 118kw petrol turbo, which I thought
sounded great, but while acceptable, failed to deliver on the car's
sporting promise. The five-speed manual was acceptable in action,
but marred by a rather awkward clutch.

Ride and handling is where the British engineers have the car right.
The steering is well weighted, and had about as much feel as anything
else in its class. Around town ride was excellent, and it corners
confidently.

Overall I liked the MG6. It is not quite up there with the Japanese
and Korean competition - but it is awfully close for a first attempt.

I could order a car now and have it here in probably 30 days.

Bigger than a Holden Cruze, smaller than a Ford Mondeo, the MG6 GT is a handsome looking, if a little dated, vehicle.

Overall I liked the MG6. It is not quite up there with the Japanese and Korean competition - but it is awfully close for a first attempt.

patpending wrote:

I could order a car now and have it here in probably 30 days.

I wonder how long they need in the UK? Presumably assembly is in batches - the workers can't be assembling cars all the time if nine are sold in a month.

Windy wrote:
Maybe there is one worker full time assembling the cars?

Although given that the last 6 months have seen an average of 44 per month, he would need to do two per working day so probably needs some help...

patpending wrote:When MG sell more cars, it will directly create jobs!

Mirtininkas wrote:MG sold 1 car on May in New Zealand. 9 cars in total this year...