After several years of rapid growth selling value-driven cars, MG Motor UK is launching its first premium-grade new cars this year but the pragmatic brand is not making dramatic, flashy demands of its franchise investors.
It wants its new IM5 and IM6 models to compete in the premium segments, amd enticing company car drivers will be key.
In the past, when mainstream brands such as Ford and Renault introduced their premium-grade cars such as the former’s Vignale and the latter’s Vel Satis and Avantime, they instructed their dealers to invest in distinctive display areas with different furniture, fixings and technology to help distinguish the premium cars from their conventional car range.
In some instances, other OEMs have limited the number of dealers able to sell their premium cars.
Guy Pigounakis, commercial director at MG Motor UK, told Automotive Management that both the IM5 and IM6 will be offered across the entire MG dealer network, bringing fresh opportunities for the brand’s 140 retail sites.
And there won’t be any difference in the way the cars are retailed.
Pigounakis (pictured) said: “We would expect all customers to have the same purchasing experience from all of our dealers regardless of the product they are buying.”
The sales mix for the new cars is expected to be 70:30 in favour of fleet, where larger, more expensive models are popular due to attractive tax incentives.
An extensive training programme is being rolled out to ensure retailers are familiar with the advanced technology fitted to these newcomers.
The MG IM5 is a large electric fastback with a range of more than 400 miles and prices that starts just below £40,000. It’s joined by the IM6, a family-sized SUV starting at £47,995.
Since the start of the year, MG has reduced its volumes in the rental and Motability channels, where it has previously registered a large number of vehicles.
The Motability market has shrunk by 19% this year, with almost 37,000 fewer vehicles registered year-to-date.
Pigounakis said: “Despite the fact that it’s gone into significant decline, for a number of reasons, it’s probably being more seriously contested today than it ever has been.”
MG’s sales, overall, have declined to date, as a result of its decision to concentrate on retail sales.
Earlier this year Pigounakis told Automotive Management that after driving rapid growth through fleet and Motability the brand has its sights on the steadier, stagnant even, retail new car market, yet he would be “mortified” to sell fewer cars this year than last.
In H1 2025, MG registered 42,617 cars – down from the 44,046 sold during the same period last year. Crucially, it sold 6,000 more cars, this year, in the private retail channel. This growth was driven by its new ZS model, the MG 3 and HS. The brand’s largest decline was in Motability sales.
In the fleet market it has faced a particular challenge, with only the MG 4 available with an electric powertrain during the first half of 2025. The new MG S5, a replacement for the ZS Electric, has only just gone on sale and the ageing MG 5 was discontinued in 2024, This led to MG’s true fleet sales also declining, by 2,500 units.
Pigounakis added: “We reached that point in our evolution as a brand where we’ve taken a conscious decision that we’re not just taking volume now.”
MG’s fleet sales are expected to surge in H2, however, once the brand’s new premium electric models get into their stride. The new IM5 and IM6 will rival the segment-leading Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, respectively.
Pigounakis said true fleet is an “area of considerable growth opportunity” for the brand, adding “if you look at where the opportunity for us lies as a manufacturer to build our volume of genuine end user business, it’s got to be in the corporate sector.”