Chinese brand MG outsells Hyundai and Mitsubishi for first time in Australia

Chinese brand MG has claimed arguably its biggest victory to date, overtaking Hyundai and Mitsubishi in the December 2022 new-car sales race.

It is the first time any Chinese brand has outsold the South Korean and Japanese car makers in a given month in Australia.

Official figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries shows MG reported 5194 new cars as sold in December 2022, which overtook both Mitsubishi (4927) and Hyundai (4434) to claim fifth place in the monthly sales rankings for the first time.

Hyundai (73,345) and Mitsubishi (76,991) still outsold MG for the full calendar year (49,582).

However, MG posted an annual sales record as Hyundai posted its third-lowest result in a decade and Mitsubishi achieved its best annual tally in three years.

Hyundai was also outpaced by its sister brand Kia for the first time in a full calendar year in Australia, marking a changing of the guard between the two sibling brands.

Since Hyundai and Kia arrived in Australia as budget brands in the 1990s, Hyundai has had a significant sales lead over Kia.

However, the tables turned in 2022 after a decade of sales growth from Kia as Hyundai hit reverse.

Some industry analysts believe Kia's sales gains in Australia have come at the expense of Hyundai. However, figures show both brands combined now sell more cars than they did a decade ago.

Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.