New MG 3 to add hybrid power in Australia next year

The 2024 MG 3 will add hybrid power as an option to Australia's top-selling city car when it arrives in local showrooms sometime next year.

It will become only the second vehicle in the city-car class to add hybrid power as an option beside a traditional petrol engine after the latest Toyota Yaris, introduced in 2020.

However prices are expected to rise for all versions of the new MG 3 to account for a suite of crash-avoidance technology – including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), now standard for newly-introduced cars in Australia – which is missing from the current model.

The MG 3 is currently the most affordable new car in Australia – from $19,990 drive-away – following a recent price rise for the Kia Picanto, though it is $4000 more expensive than it was four-and-a-half years ago.

The current model launched in Australia in 2016, and received a facelift in 2018 – though the body and crash structure date back to 2011.

Details of the hybrid system planned for the new MG 3 are unclear, however overseas reports have pointed to a combination of a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor.

A similar system is already fitted to the MG VS – a restyled version of the MG ZS small SUV sold in Thailand – pairing a 80kW/142Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine derived from the current MG 3, with a 70kW/200Nm electric motor for a combined 130kW.

Specific arrival timing for the 2024 MG 3 is due closer to its Australian arrival sometime next year.

"At this stage we can confirm the confirmed line up for next year (2024) to [include] ... an all new MG 3 available in both ICE [petrol' and Hybrid," an MG Motor Australia spokesperson told Drive.