By Joseph Lyons
The Chinese-owned car brand MG Motors reportedly made over £1bn in UK sales last year as drivers were drawn to its affordable electric cars.
MG’s revenues rose 122 per cent to just over £1bn attributing the rise to “impressive sales” of its EVs in 2022, according to a news report in the Times.
Pre-tax profits for the car brand owned by Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corp were up from £4.3m to £54m during the year.
Chinese-made cars have jumped from just two per cent of the UK’s electric vehicle market in 2019 to 32 per cent last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (EAMA).
Last month, leading car manufacturers urged the government to give clarity on its proposed row back on banning petrol and diesel cars.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said the policy change will cause “concern” among car makers.
The Prime Minister made the decision to push the ban from 2030 to 2035, but Labour has pledged to reinstate the 2030 ban if elected into government.
MG was upbeat about its “very strong position” to take advantage of the shift to electric cars over the next decade, before diesel and petrol vehicles are banned.
The company’s allure among buyers has been partly due to the affordability of its £26,000 MG4, one in around ten electric cars in the UK costing less than £30,000.
Sales for new MGs are up around 61 per cent year to date, according to the SMMT.
SMMT’s Hawes said electric vehicles made in China “are finding strong demand in a market that is fiercely competitive”, adding that “China is a significant investor in the UK automotive sector and remains a top-five export destination for UK-built vehicles, so we need to ensure that trade is free and fair.”
