MG’s facelifted HS mid-sized SUV won’t arrive in Australia until 2024, the company has confirmed.
The updated crossover was previously due in the second half of 2023, and features a front-end design that first debuted in China in 2020.
This new exterior styling is finally making its way to global markets, having been revealed earlier this year for the UK, and includes a more aggressive-looking front end with new headlights, a more sculpted grille, and a redesigned bumper.
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Down back, there are tweaked tail lights, dual exhaust outlets, a revised rear bumper. The updated HS also features new wheel designs.
Petrol and plug-in hybrid versions will both receive the updated styling in Australia, which helps align the HS with the MG 5 sedan now touching down in Australia.
Inside there’s a new-generation infotainment system for the 10.1-inch touchscreen, but otherwise there are no visible changes.
The MG HS first entered production in 2018 and arrived here in 2020, with the facelifted model debuting in China in 2020 under the MG Pilot nameplate.
Its introduction to right-hand drive markets, therefore, has been a long time coming.
MG sold 4664 examples of the HS in Australia in the first half of this year, down 15.8 per cent on the same period last year.
Its fellow Chinese mid-sizer, the GWM Haval H6, has pushed past it – at least if you lump in sales of both the wagon and GT ‘coupe SUV’ variants. GWM sold 4470 examples of the former, up 70.7 per cent year-to-date, and 1950 of the latter.
The HS still managed to outsell the Renault Koleos (1918 sales) and Volkswagen Tiguan (3864 sales), while looming large in the Honda CR-V’s rear-view mirror (5022 sales). It’s also proving vastly more popular than its forgotten GS predecessor.
While the HS update’s local launch won’t take place until 2024, MG has a couple of major launches taking place this year.
Besides the MG 5 presently reaching showrooms, it has the new MG 4 hatchback arriving in August. This rides a new, dedicated electric vehicle platform and offers the second-lowest base price of any electric car on sale in Australia.
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