MG wants to end Toyota’s hybrid ‘monopoly’

“We hope to break the hybrid monopoly that exists in Spain”. These were the words of the vice president of MG, Pedro Garciawho clearly did reference to Toyotasince the Japanese firm concentrates almost the 70% of hybrid car sales not pluggable in our country. Something logical if we take into account that it was the brand that first and strongest opted for this technology, and that today stands out for being the most efficient and reliable on the market.

He said this during the recent presentation of the Cyberster in Madrid, an occasion that he took advantage of to talk about the brand’s upcoming launches in our country. Specifically 10 throws that will come with combustion engines, plug-in hybrids (PHEV), electric (BEV) and, for the first time, with systems conventional hybrids (HEV) ‘self-rechargeable’. There will be no microhybrids (MHEV) because the brand assures that they do not help decarbonization, and that it also costs them the same as producing full hybrid.

Such a number of throws in a single exercise is possible thanks to the fact that MG has the Chinese giant SIAC behind it, capable of producing 8 million cars a year. Of all these vehicles, 200,000 are already sold in Europe, and there could be up to 300,000 in 2024, so the company does not rule out having a factory in the old continent soon. And the best of all is that, according to Pedro García himself, “Spain is very well positioned to be able to welcome it”.

MG’s main asset to confront Toyota’s hybrid sovereignty in Spain is “the price”, according to García. And the ‘British’ firm wants to maintain in this segment its philosophy of making sustainability available to everyone with a really popular acquisition cost. But without sacrificing aspects such as quality, technology, reliability or design.

Another point that could favor future MG hybrids over Toyota’s is that The hybrid system will not be combined with a CVT automatic gearbox, as in the vehicles of the Japanese manufacturer. This technology is often criticized for that feeling of emptiness at high revolutions – as if you heard the clutch slipping -, although the truth is that we are talking about an element that Beyond sound perception, it is very effective, extremely reliable and super efficient. In fact, Toyotas are the cars that consume the least gasoline among all hybrid cars that are sold in the market. So MG must do very well to get a better change than Toyota, although from a dynamic point of view it has an easy time.

The arrival of up 10 new features in 2024 from MGforces the brand to strengthen after-sales service in order to give due attention to all these new vehicles, and to the increase in customers that the increase in supply is estimated to bring.

It should not be forgotten that the greatest fear on the part of the consumer when faced with a new brand, and even more so if it is of Chinese origin or with direct relations with manufacturers from this country, it is the reliability of the vehicle and the quality and speed of service in inspections and repairs. To this García responded that “We have not had any relevant problems in after-sales service”to which he added that after asking the vehicle rental companies – who can give a more realistic view of the reliability of their vehicles due to their demands – they responded that “MG’s stoppage rate compared to other Korean, Japanese and German brands is very similar, if not the same”.

The vice president of MG also added that although they already have an excellent commercial and after-sales service network, with the arrival of new models it will be reinforced and increased to continue offering good customer service. Furthermore, he said that SAIC thinks about creating a local spare parts warehouse to provide service to both Europe and Spain, which would significantly reduce the wait for parts after a breakdown.