[Introduction: Not long ago, the global CEO of Stellantis Group caused controversy, he said that the group will not sell any of its brands to Chinese companies, let alone sell Alfa Romeo to Chinese manufacturers, and at the same time criticized "Volvo sold to Geely" and "MG sold to SAIC". No matter what Stellantis will do next, at least MG will live well after being taken under SAIC. 】
Written by Yun Li, edited by He Zi
When it comes to brand history and heritage, MG is in the first echelon, and it has been exactly 100 years since it was officially founded by the British Cecil Kimber and "MG" officially became a car trademark. MG's 100 years have not been smooth sailing, but the brand's unique charm and value have been presented in the process of its continuous nirvana.
MG had dreams, but had to face reality
At the Beijing Auto Show, MG is a unique presence. Although MG is in the domestic sequence, it is not a native Chinese brand; MG is trying to adapt to the present and embrace the future, but it is difficult to let go of the past.
Different from the new forces that let go of the new forces, the new forces are born with a blank sheet of paper, the direction sought after by the market, and the place where capital gathers is the home of the new forces; And MG's 100-year brand history is destined to move forward with a heavy load and carry the past. And the glory of the past and the twists and turns may become X variables on the way forward for MG.
Looking back on MG's past, there are not many points that can have a good guide for the future path, but there are many brand memories or brand impressions contained in MG.
MG claims to be a "brand born to build sports cars", has a "family of sports cars that believe in speed", has written track stories, and has also won the world's single sports car sales championship. It can be said that since the official establishment of the MG brand in 1924, the "sports car" has always played an indispensable role in the development of the MG brand.
But from a practical point of view, MG repeatedly "changed the owner", to continue the so-called sports car genes did not play much help, brand management and even survival troubles have to a certain extent reduced MG's insistence on "sports car manufacturers" energy, especially in 2005 after Nanqi won MG, focusing on household products began to become the main force, MG was forced to deviate from the original intention or dream of building sports cars.
The long-lost sports car gene is awakened
It wasn't until the advent of the Cyberster last year that people saw the long-lost "sports car MG". At the MG booth at the Beijing Motor Show, the new electric supercar EXE181 made its world debut. The car is built by SAIC Motor's UK Forward-looking Design Center, and has entered the stage of conceptual design and engineering demonstration, and will use SAIC's three-electric technology and aerodynamic design in the future, with a maximum design speed of 415km/h and a drag coefficient as low as 0.181Cd.
From the release site, it is learned that MG EXE181 will also land on the "2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed" in July.
MG is deliberately increasing the exposure of EXE181, trying to use the opportunity of electrification to regain MG's former positioning as a "sports car manufacturer" and enhance MG's brand voice in the new era of electrification. At the same time, MG is bent on electric supercar, hoping to make it a totem of MG in the era of "electric running".
This is reminiscent of Lotus, which is also a brand associated with sports cars, and the 10-million-level supercar EVIJA has also appeared in Goodwood, and Lotus has always been committed to building EVIJA into the "Lotus King" in the new era.
MG's thinking is roughly similar to that of Lotus, except that Lotus EVIJA has achieved mass production and delivery (F1 driver Jenson Button is the first owner), and completed the first test in China in the Zhejiang Race not long ago, while MG EXE181 is still in the concept stage, and there is still a long way to go before the "electric totem" envisioned by MG really lands.
Sports cars are the soul of MG, and MG at the helm of Nanqi was only barely able to make a living, while SAIC gave MG a long-lost vitality, and a number of coupe models with sports car elements such as MG5 and MG7 were born, which made the MG team regain confidence and hope.
The birth of the Cyberster and the debut of the EXE181 have completely confirmed the vision of "SAIC Motor re-injecting vitality into MG and renewing the sports car gene".
In addition, MG's MG4 EV was also unveiled at the booth, the car is positioned as a "pure electric coupe SUV", which is the first global car built by SAIC MG, from the "Nebula" platform, and the four-wheel drive performance version can complete "zero hundred acceleration" within 4s, and has a good performance in "European compact pure electric vehicle sales" and "China's new energy model export sales".
SAIC MG has obviously entered an upward period in the past two years, with a large number of products integrating appearance, performance, reliability and sports car genes coming out, such as MG7 and Cyberster, which have broken MG's long-term sinking, and have a positive impact on MG's return to the right track and rejuvenating sports car genes.
It is inseparable from SAIC, and it is inseparable from new energy
Although MG's localization road has come full circle, it is an uphill road as a whole from the current perspective, witnessing the whole process of MG from "adapting to the local", to "resource allocation", and then to "building a solid foundation" and "radiating the world", it can be said that SAIC has played a key role in the return of MG.
In the early days of SAIC, MG experienced a downturn, but it also stood out of the haze and stuck to the present.
In 2023, the global sales of the MG brand will exceed 840,000 units; In China, MG sold a total of 98,883 new cars, of which MG5 and MG7 alone sold 46,156 and 32,523 new cars respectively. The MG5 and MG7 are the core products of SAIC MG, which are the ballast stones, and so far, the sales of these two models still account for most of the brand's sales in the same period, and their importance is self-evident.
From another point of view, SAIC MG created the new MG5 and MG7, and the MG5 and MG7 laid the foundation for sales at this stage and gave MG a new life.
On the one hand, it is China's auto market, and on the other hand, it is a global market. In fact, SAIC MG has been exported to Europe in batches since 2012, and the 12-year journey of "going to sea" has radiated to more than 90 countries or regions. As of 2023, MG's overseas cumulative sales have exceeded 2.2 million units, and it has been the "China's Single Brand Export Champion" for five consecutive years. In terms of MG, "for every 10 cars exported by China, 7 are MG".
After SAIC took over, MG clarified the market strategy of "standing up + going out", in view of the clear positioning, there is no lack of technology, capital and production capacity support, SAIC has indeed allowed MG to obtain a small climax that has not been seen for a long time in recent years.
MG can open up the situation in the domestic and foreign markets after the surname "Shang", and the role of SAIC cannot be underestimated. In contrast, with the advent of new energy and the trend of electrification, MG has also touched unprecedented opportunities on the road of "evoking sports car genes" and "creating sports cars/coupe products".
Sports cars are a niche category that elevates car brands, and although design is an important element for sports cars to highlight their similarities and differences, the most important thing for sports cars outside of design is the core technology. Looking at the high-end market, the Porsche 911 series and Mercedes-Benz AMG's SL 63 series are all carriers of the brand's highest technology and core technology, so they are the flagship and can become the "top of the pyramid".
MG was able to restart the sports car production line, and the emergence of new energy technology contributed to it. Compared with the internal combustion engine that strictly adheres to technical patents, the application threshold or professional threshold of motor and electronic control is much lower, which means that MG's new sports car may be half the success if it can make a dazzling appearance design, have a set of chassis that meets the positioning of the sports car, and match a set of moving stories if conditions permit.
Just like the Cyberster has had a good amount of attention and conversation since its launch, many people even compare it with BMW's Z4, Toyota's Supra and Mazda's MX-5 or so on. Cyberster's appearance rate is not low, and from this point of view alone, it has initially fulfilled the mission entrusted to him by MG.
With the blessing of new energy technology, Cyberster has become a new starting point for MG to regain sports cars. In the future, whether it is MG's other sports cars or products with sports car genes, they will take advantage of this inspiration and benefit from it, and the spirit of the MG brand has just awakened.
Comments
For MG, SAIC cannot live up to it, SAIC is the key to its survival, and the people-friendly models have built the sales base of MG; The MG4 EV and the high-demand Cyberster are the best examples, MG can realize the long-lost sports car dream with the help of new energy, and even enhance the brand value and achieve a more ambitious global layout. However, one thing cannot be ignored, the former MG was a recognized sports car brand, and it is unknown how much of the past halo is left after several displacements. Re-establishing the image of a sports car brand is not something that can be achieved overnight, and without a good brand building or high-end endorsement, it is difficult to turn the best vision into reality.
(This article is the original of "Heyan Reading Cars", and may not be reproduced without authorization)