UK: Plug-Ins Are Dominating MG's Largest Ever Shipment

"The demand for our EV models has been astonishing."

By: Mark Kane

Oct 20, 2020 at 12:27pm ET

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MG (part of SAIC) just completed its largest ever car shipment at Portbury Docks, Bristol in the UK, delivering 2,031 cars from China.

The brand is on a rise with a record September (growth of 169% year-over-year) and year-to-date (up 52%), despite challenging times. Moreover, plug-ins are a major contributor to those results.

The most interesting thing is that two-thirds of the cars on the boat were plug-ins - all-electric MG ZS EV and new MG5 EV, as well as the plug-in hybrid MG HS Plug-in.

With three plug-ins now on sale and more to come, MG is confident that overall, more than half of total sales in 2021 will fall on plug-ins.

“We have said before that 2021 will be our EV tipping point, where at least half of the cars we sell in the UK will be electrified. The demand for our EV models has been astonishing, especially as the ZS EV is the only one that is firmly established in the marketplace. As All New MG5 EV and MG HS Plug-in start to gain market traction with fleet and retail customers alike, it’s a trend that’s only going to go one way.”

MG clearly benefits from its Chinese manufacturing base, and new trends in Europe to look for electrified and more affordable models.

It's also the time when buying a car from China is not considered as a compromise in quality anymore. We have Polestar 2, soon also BMW iX3 and base Tesla Model 3 to name just a few new China-made EVs. BYD, NIO and Xpeng also are gearing up or already starting to get into Europe.

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To improve customer's confidence in its cars, MG offers a 7 year warranty on its cars - a pretty strong argument for those who are not entirely sure about the Chinese EVs and a brand that holds just about 1% of the British market.

On the downside of this trend is the European automotive industry - not only the market outlook is challenging after the COVID-19 lockdowns, but now the import from another country is growing, weakening demand for locally-made cars. Manufacturers in Europe will have to become even more competitive now.