MG Motor is marking a milestone year of sales success in the Middle East, as it closes 2018 with an overall increase of 453% across the entire region. Having launched three new models in the Middle East in 2018 – the MG RX5, the face-lifted MG GS, and the all-new MG6 – the British-born brand is celebrating a major renaissance in the region.
Auto Class Cars, a subsidiary of Nasser Bin Khaled Group and the authorised distributor of MG in Qatar, registered a 274% growth in sales, marking a new record and positioning MG as one of the top selling brands in the country. In recognition of this accomplishment, the Auto Class Cars/MG showroom in Qatar has been approved by MG Middle East to be the Standard Reference MG Showroom for the region.
With a network of dedicated retail partners across the Middle East boasting 20 modern showrooms and 21 service centres, MG Motor’s presence is growing apace, with the MG 360 and RX-5 proving its most popular models. And with a further three new models joining the region’s model line-up in 2019, the brand is primed to continue its expansion.
Arriving in the third quarter of 2019 will be another strong compact sedan to bolster the brand’s C-segment offering, to be followed later in the summer with an innovative new SUV packed with the latest cutting-edge technology. And finally, MG will enter a brand-new segment in 2019 as it launches its first ever seven-seater SUV.
According to Tom Lee, Managing Director for SAIC Motor Middle East, their commitment to the region was made stronger by the very positive results of 2018, and they intend to build on this success further as they establish MG as a household name in the years to come.
As a relatively young brand in the Middle East, and with the current challenging market conditions, we are very encouraged by the acceptance of the brand.
We are determined to lead the way in delivering smartly-designed, performance-focused, and importantly, reliable cars to our customers. Our extremely competitive warranty package, which covers our cars for six years or 200,000 kilometres, is a compelling offer which makes us stand out from competitors.’
Lee said that MG has a very strong brand appeal to female motorists – 21% of all MG owners in the Middle East are female and around half of all new MG6 owners are women.
We can almost certainly attribute these statistics to our fresh, contemporary approach to car design which has a clear appeal to our female customers.’
He said that in terms of quality, they are very confident that MG cars are ready for the region as all their products go through rigorous challenges, including extreme weather testing, right here in the Middle East.
Aside from their three new models, the brand also launched an innovative new app called ‘MG iLink’ in 2018, the first smart phone app in the Middle East to combine dynamic and service features in one easy-to-use interface. It is also the only application in the market to offer ‘punch sensor’ technology.
On a global level, MG Motor’s parent company, SAIC Motor, is performing well in its home market of China, where, despite the industry decline, the company remains amongst the strongest performing businesses selling a record 7.0517 million vehicles last year (+1.75% compared to 2017) and is expected to secure a +24% market share.
Continuing the success story, SAIC Motor was featured in the 2018 ‘Fortune 500’ list for the 14th year running, climbing five places from its 2017 position to Number 36, and ranking as the number one Chinese automotive manufacturer.
MG cars are available in Qatar at the Auto Class Showroom in Salwa road. Customers can visit the showroom, Saturday to Thursday, 8 am to 9 pm and on Friday, 5 pm to 9 pm. For more information about Auto Class Cars, visit their website at nbks.com.
