MG defends 'poor' safety scores

MG has defended the arrival of Australia's least-safest passenger car, claiming young customers will be drawn to the revived brand through value, style and sticker packs.

The iconic British car maker was relaunched locally this week with a twin-pronged small car line-up, the MG3 city car and MG6 small hatchback - both of which feature the lowest crash-rating scores in their respective segments.

The MG3 receives a three-star EuroNCAP rating while the MG6 has a four-star ANCAP rating, well below the five-star standard of class rivals.

The MG3 costs $13,990 (plus on-road costs), making it one of the most affordable new cars in Australia and is available with a range of optional graphic packs, including a roof full of emoji faces, but it only has a basic suite of safety features which essentially comprises those that are mandatory for it to be sold in Australia. 

By comparison, the Skoda Fabia it competes directly against costs from just $15,990 and features modern semi autonomous emergency functions and a reverse camera as standard equipment while offering radar-based cruise control as an affordable option.

MG Motors Australia's marketing and communications boss, Danny Lenartic, conceded the safety ratings were not ideal and were a consequence of the age of the vehicles and technologies available at the time (the MG3 was crash-tested in Europe in 2014 while the MG6's local result is from 2013) but also said that safety is not a defining factor to all customers.

"People look at these cars and they are generally fun to drive. People will just want one," he said.

"To some consumers the three-star will be factor, but not to all consumers… otherwise Mahindra wouldn't be selling any cars at all."

High-raking executives from MG's Chinese parent company, Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SIAC), visited Australia for this week's relaunch of MG as a fully-fledged subsidiary and told local media that safety is an important pillar for the brand, claiming the car's steel structure is substantial enough to prevent injuries in a crash.

"This car is safe," said SAIC's international business executive director Yang Xiaodong.

"Firstly if you look at the weight of the steel we have, you will feel the door is very strong against other competitors. This is safety, but it depends on how you view safety. In China we are five-star. Australia follows Europe and this is the different aspects of safety."

Yang also said that advanced safety systems such as automated emergency braking and other semi autonomous functions are "not a technical issue" for SAIC and will be available in future generations of MG models that will ensure they meet the most stringent global crash test regimes. However, he also questioned the value equation and whether consumers would be willing to pay extra to have them installed.

The boss of the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), James Goodwin, countered Yang's comments in a statement to Drive, saying "not only does the MG 3 fall down in the safety assist area of assessment, the vehicle's passive safety foundation - its structure - is also of a poor standard."

"Our test requirements are increasing in stringency every year and this is the impetus for all brands to continually improve their designs with a focus on safety specification, not just aesthetics and infotainment," he added.

He also stated that ANCAP will evaluate any differences in specification between the cars sold locally and those that were used to achieve the EuroNCAP score to potentially derive a local crash test score for the MG3.

Goodwin confirmed that ANCAP will also conduct local crash testing on the next MG model set to arrive in Australian showrooms, which is expected to be the MG GS mid-sized SUV later this year.

"We understand there may be another MG model soon to enter our market, and we have our sights set on testing that model as soon as we're able," he said.