MG will bring a new flagship plug-in hybrid model to the UK later this year, according to company officials.
The MGS9 PHEV will be the British/Chinese carmaker’s first seven-seater. It’ll sit alongside the MGS6 at the top of MG’s 11-model lineup.
News of the MG9 PHEV first leaked when Euro NCAP published crash test results for the car before MG had announced the model.
David Allison, MG’s head of product and planning, has now confirmed that the car will go on sale before the end of 2026.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that we will move into a space that we don’t currently operate in,” he told EV Powered.
“It’s a car that we don’t sell today but that exists in other markets, and was Euro NCAP rated last year.”
“That’s a space that we’ll be moving into fairly soon, which is another opportunity that we can take incremental sales and perhaps steal from somebody else.”
Seven-Seater SUV Market Entry
A version of the MGS9 is already on sale in Australia, where it’s called the MGQS. That model is marketed as a “true seven-seater with three full-size rows…not just a 5+2 setup.”
In the UK, that suggests it’ll compete with the Peugeot 5008, Kia Sorento and Skoda Kodiaq in the large family SUV market.
In Australia, the flagship model uses a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine. However, Euro NCAP data shows that the UK version will be a plug-in hybrid using the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine as the existing MG HS PHEV.
That model pairs its petrol engine with a 135kW electric motor for a total of 295bhp. It includes a 24.7kWh battery for up to 75 miles of electric range.
There’s no indication yet whether the larger MGS9 will get a more powerful version of the powertrain. It’s also unclear how its additional size will affect its EV-only range.
Safety Credentials
The MGS9 was the second MG model inadvertently revealed by Euro NCAP – the same thing happened with the all-electric MGS6.
The MGS9 secured a full five-star rating from the safety authority. It scored 84% for adult occupant safety, 85% for child safety and 74% for its safety assist systems.
Prices and an on-sale date are still under wraps. In keeping with MG’s value-based positioning, expect it to undercut its European and Korean rivals by quite a margin.
Given Allison’s comments and MG’s habit of announcing cars very close to their launch, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it in showrooms by the summer.
