Australia's all-time top-selling Chinese car brand says a "focus on cars", not politics, will help its new electric-car spin-off succeed despite a barrage of rivals.
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MG has taken a jab at the controversial political stance of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in declaring a bold goal to outsell the US giant in Australia with its new range of IM prestige electric cars.
The Chinese car giant initially aims to sell a few hundred IM vehicles per month – across IM5 sedan and IM6 SUV models – before ramping up to an "achievable" 1000 each month.
That would see IM – sold as 'IM Presented by MG Motor', through MG dealers – tally a quarter of Tesla's sales, but the company has much bigger ambitions in the long term.
"My business plan is to always aim for the number one brand in the market. In this segment, who is the number one brand? Who is my target?" MG Motor Australia CEO Peter Ciao told Drive.
"Who is the number one in middle-sized SUVs, pure electric? Who is my target?"
The Model Y is Australia's top-selling mid-size electric SUV – reporting three times the sales of the second-placed BYD Sealion 7, at 10,431 vs 3756, so far this year – with the Tesla brand topping the electric-vehicle charts, helped by its other car, the Model 3 sedan.
Asked if MG believes the IM sub-brand can outsell Tesla, Ciao said: "I think that is a long journey. But I have confidence.
"Why? Because IM's [parent] company, SAIC Motor, we don't do other business. We just focus on cars. We don't do political jabber ... We only focus on cars. That is my answer."
Without naming names, it is clearly a reference to the political stance of Tesla CEO Musk, who aligned – and later disassociated – himself with US President Donald Trump.
The Tesla boss embroiled himself in further controversy following a contentious gesture made to the crowd while speaking at Trump's inauguration.
Tesla showrooms have since been the subject of vandalism, and overseas studies have reported declines in consideration of Tesla vehicles among prospective buyers.
"I trust that it doesn't matter which company or which people, if you focus on something and keep your focus, keep your passion, and you continue your investment, with lots of talented people employed together, we will achieve that," said Ciao.
IM, short for Intelligence in Motion, is marketed in China as a standalone brand, operated as a joint venture between MG parent company SAIC Motor, and Chinese technology companies Alibaba and Zhangjiang Hi-Tech.
In Australia, IM vehicles are sold through MG dealers under the 'IM Presented by MG Motor' label, with a single MG Motor badge on the tailgate alongside extensive IM branding.
Its debut models target Tesla's top sellers: the IM5, a sedan to challenge the Tesla Model 3, and the IM6, an SUV larger than, but priced in line with a Tesla Model Y.
Ciao said the decision to sell IM cars through MG dealers is intended to give the new nameplate a head start.
"IM is lucky, because MG is already standing as a Top 10 brand, and we belong to the same group. But we have this business platform here, already, so we need to fully use this resource," he told Drive.
"And if we just start as an independent [brand], I think that's a very difficult start."
He pitched IM as a "more premium" upgrade for existing MG customers looking to move into a larger and faster vehicle.
"MG [has] already run 250,000 vehicles in this market. But these 250,000 cars are mostly small cars or normal cars. Actually, in the past eight years, our warranty performance is very good, and we trust in the quality.
"I can't guarantee everyone will want to update, but if some of them want to update now, IM is a good opportunity for them.
"You love MG? You trust MG? Now, you want to drive a better car, more premium car, a much better performance car? IM is here. And the price is not a big jump. Actually, if you go to [another] brand, it's a normal price."
He set an initial target of "a few hundred" IM sales per month, but said "maybe we can achieve the very, very high volume."
"A few hundred per month, that I think is a normal goal. But I also want to say, even 1000 [per month] is achievable, just because we have a sedan, we have SUV, and if you benchmark other brands, we can achieve it.
"We have the trust. This is based on what this product can bring, lots of value and benefit to our customers."
Tesla reported about 4500 vehicles as sold last month, but over the first six months of the year, it reported 14,146 deliveries – down from 23,116 over the same period in 2024.
Annual sales of 12,000 vehicles would place IM among the country's most popular electric-car brands, behind only a handful of marques, such as Tesla and BYD, which is on track for 17,000 battery-electric deliveries this year.
"MG, the [customer] database is mostly under $40,000 cars, but this car starts from $60,000, so here I have a $20,000 gap. This is a challenge for us," said Ciao.
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
