MG has confirmed it will introduce its first large, off-road capable SUV to Australia, entering a segment dominated by the Toyota Prado, Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X.
The model is expected sometime after 2027 and is part of the company’s push to become one of the top three selling car brands in Australia by 2030. MG currently sits in sixth place nationally, with 58,269 vehicles sold in 2023 — behind Toyota, Mazda, Ford, Hyundai and Kia, but ahead of Mitsubishi and GWM.
Locked in, but still years away
While exact details remain under wraps, MG executives in Shanghai have signed off on the project. MG Motor Australia CEO Peter Ciao confirmed the off-roader — described internally as an “SUV D” — is already in the product pipeline.
“[It’s] not [a] discussion. We already have the plan. The models, they’re coming,” he told media.
SUV D is industry shorthand for large SUVs, covering both soft-roaders like the Toyota Kluger and Hyundai Santa Fe, and heavy-duty body-on-frame models such as the Prado and Everest.
Asked about timing, Ciao suggested a local launch would be “maybe a little bit later” than 2027.
Seven-seat layout
No specifications have been released, but the vehicle is expected to be a seven-seater to match its rivals. For context, the Toyota Prado measures 4,840 mm in length, while the Ford Everest comes in at 4,914 mm, both offering three-row seating.
MG already offers two seven-seat SUVs in India — the Gloster and Majestor — which are rebranded versions of the LDV D90 available locally.
Platform sharing with LDV
MG’s parent company, SAIC Motor, also owns LDV. Both brands already share platforms, and the upcoming SUV will be based on the same underpinnings as the new LDV Terron 9 ute, also to be sold by MG as the U9.
“The investment of one platform is very huge,” said Ciao, noting that carmakers routinely spread costs across multiple brands. “MG will focus on MG’s business strategy and request … but the platform, somewhere we [will] share.”
This would mirror the current LDV D90, which shares its base with the T60 ute — similar to how the Ford Everest shares a platform with the Ranger.
Diesel and electric power
If the SUV borrows from MG’s upcoming U9 ute (known overseas as the Maxus GST), it is likely to be powered by a 2.5-litre single-turbo diesel engine. Diesel remains the dominant choice in Australia’s large SUV category: in 2023, more than 75 per cent of new vehicles sold in the Prado and Everest segment were diesel-powered.
LDV has already confirmed that the electric eTerron 9 will be coming to Australia, so any Terron 9 based SUV will likely be available with electric power.
Styling and market position
While design is not finalised, the SUV will closely resemble U9 ute just as the D90 closely resembles the T60, particularly the cabin and front-end. Rival models often take a similar approach — sharing panels with their dual-cab siblings to reduce costs.
How aggressively MG prices the SUV will be critical. The Toyota Prado currently starts from $62,830 before on-road costs, while the Ford Everest range begins at $53,990.
