MG wants to take on HiLux, Ranger with new ute... eventually

MG wants to enter Australia’s crowded ute market, but it says it’s waiting for the right product.

“There’s room for one more, as long as it’s ours and it’s the right one,” MG Motor Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher told media when asked whether the Australian ute market was already too saturated.

“We assess the market opportunities all the time.

“Obviously the dual-cab market is a sizeable chunk of the Australian market.

“So if the right product becomes available – [it’s] not available right now – if it does become available, we’ll assess the capability of that car based on the market here.

“If the right one comes along, there’s nothing on the table at the moment, but if one does then we’ll certainly look at it.

“This car has been coming for a long time, so we want to make sure it’s right.”

What won’t come here, MG insists, is the ute it already sells in Thailand.

It’s called the Extender, and it’s little more than a rebadged LDV T60. It’s offered both in extended- and dual-cab body styles, powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine producing 119kW of power and 375Nm of torque.

MG Thailand offers it with a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions and rear- or four-wheel drive.

“The one that currently exists is not to be evaluated for our market,” said senior product and strategy manager Akshat Ahuja.

“The priority for us is to not just launch any product or ute, but we want to bring the right product for Australia that’s definitely meant for the market.”

MG is one of a number of brands owned by SAIC Motor, with LDV – or Maxus, as it’s known in most markets – being another.

Maxus is set to imminently unveil a next-generation diesel and electric ute, the Star X, which was revealed this month in a Chinese Government filing.

It’s unclear whether MG’s next ute will be based on this vehicle, which in EV guise features 138kW front and 216kW rear electric motors.

The Star X’s 2.5-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine produces 165kW of power, according to the government filing.

MG has rebadged not only Maxus/LDV products, but also vehicles from Roewe like the RX9 three-row SUV. The new second-generation HS is a lightly restyled version of the Roewe RX5.

The company has also suggested it would put the MG octagon on premium EVs from the IM brand.

While MG has largely stuck to passenger cars and SUVs in markets like China and Australia, seemingly anything goes in Thailand.

There, the MG octagon is applied not only to a ute, but also a people mover (the MG Maxus 7). MG even sold a people-carrying version of the ancient LDV/Maxus V80 cargo van there as the MG V80.