Car news, 23 July ’24: MG Cyberster could cost up to $130K, LDV utes set for future Aussie release, and more

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Thanks for joining us this Tuesday July 23rd 2024. Notably in car news today: MG teases pricing for their most expensive car ever, LDV utes set for future Aussie release, and more. 

Browse this issue:

• MG teases pricing for their most expensive car ever
• New LDV utes set for future Aussie release
• Zeekr 009 debuts in right-hand drive in Hong Kong
• Toyota RAV4 and Lexus hybrids celebrate sales milestones 
• First look: 2024 MG Cyberster Walkaround

MG teases pricing for their most expensive car ever

@chasingcarsaustralia

Check out the all-electric MG Cyberster! It’s no MX5 competitor… instead, it’s got its sights set on Boxster! What do you think? #mg #cyberster #sportscar #roadster #ev #electric

♬ original sound – Chasing Cars | Car Reviews

• The upcoming all-electric MG Cyberster roadster will cost between $100,000 and $130,000 when it launches in Australia by the end of the year. 

• Speaking to media at a roadshow of the brand’s new halo vehicle, MG Australia executives have narrowed the gap within which pricing is expected to fall when it is confirmed closer to launch, with the brand previously indicating a $100,000 to $150,000 range.

• While a single-motor rear-drive is available overseas, Australia is set to receive only a dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant of the MG Cyberster at launch which will be the brand’s most expensive ever vehicle in Australia, in stark contrast to the rest of the brand’s lineup which for many years wore the crown of Australia’s most affordable vehicle in the previous generation MG3 small hatchback.

• Asked about the value proposition, MG Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher said: “we’ve looked at the car on its performance basis, its specification, its technology, and MG is about value, so we think there is incredible value in that car. It’s a two-seat electric sports car that does 0-100 in 3.2 seconds, that’s incredible, so one person’s value is difficult to judge but we believe that represents great value”.

• “We don’t have a volume expectation for it. It’s there to showcase, the design, the performance, the technology of what the MG brand can do,” said Mr Belcher of the Cyberster which is currently available for pre-order.

LDV readying next utes for the Aussie market 

• LDV Australia is set to bring more utes to the local market, including the recently leaked Maxus Interstellar ute.

• The Interstellar uses either diesel or electric power, with the electric variant to produce as much as 354kW. 

• According to Lai Times, this new ute will be able to tow up to 3500kg, however exact driving range is yet to be confirmed.  

• LDV Australia is also set to launch a dual-motor Maxus ute model based on the GST concept, which was confirmed by the brand’s local division roughly 10 months ago. 

• The Chinese automaker, which is owned by SAIC Motors, currently sells the T60 turbo-diesel ute and the eT60 electric ute on Australian shores. 

• The eT60 has struggled to sell down under, achieving just eight registrations year-to-date, likely due to its very limited range and being only rear-wheel drive. 

Zeekr 009 debuts in right-hand drive in Hong Kong, could come to Oz

• Geely-owned Zeekr has debuted its 009 people mover in right-hand drive for the very first time, which means the model could one day launch in Australia.

• The Zeekr 009 is a four, six or seven seat electric people mover that shares its underpinnings with the upcoming Volvo EM90, the Lotus Eletre and the Polestar 4. 

• It uses huge batteries up to 140kWh in capacity provided to Geely by global battery maker CATL.

• Standard equipment for the Zeekr 009 includes a 15.0-inch OLED screen, 17-inch screen for the rear, a 30-speaker Yamaha sound system and the ability to sprint to 100km/h in a claimed 3.9 seconds. 

• Overseas, the entry WE Edition produces 400kW/686Nm thanks to dual-motor all-wheel drive. 

• Expect to hear much more about Zeekr in the coming months.

Toyota RAV4 and Lexus hybrids celebrate sales milestones 

• Toyota and Lexus have marked respective milestones for the RAV4 midsize SUV which has eclipsed 500,000 sales in Australia, and Lexus hybrids, which have now passed 50,000.

• The RAV4, which has been on sale since 1994 and has recently shifted to an all-hybrid lineup, is Australia’s most popular SUV, and is currently on track to deliver a full-year sales record with over 25,000 delivered in the first six months of 2024, and a total of 501,546 units delivered locally across its three decades.

• Meanwhile, sibling premium marque Lexus is celebrating 51,013 deliveries of hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in Australia, with electrified vehicles making up 60.4 percent of Lexus sales in Australia last year, and currently making up 75 percent of new vehicle deliveries in the first six months  of 2024.

• Lexus says the latest news marks a crucial step toward the brand’s target of having a purely electrified lineup of HEV, PHEV and BEV models by 2030, and an “ultimate vision” for being a pure BEV manufacturer by 2035.

First look: MG Cyberster 2024 Walkaround 

• Chasing Cars journalist Olek Novak’s walkaround of the all-new and all-electric MG Cyberster was published, running through all there is to know about the upcoming roadster.
  

• Weighing circa two tonnes and with a dual-motor setup sending 375kW and 725Nm of torque to four-driven wheels, the Cyberster is destined to be MG’s most expensive vehicle ever in Australia at more than $100,000 – in stark contrast to the rest of the vehicle’s budget-friendly lineup. 

• Most striking feature? The Lamborghini-like scissor opening doors certainly add to the showroom appeal!

• This was Chasing Cars’ first look at the Cyberster on Aussie soil ahead of an official launch in the last quarter of 2024 as MG beats key rivals including Porsche and Tesla to the punch the debut of an all-electric roadster.

The next issue of Car News Today will be published on Wednesday 24th July at 4.30pm Sydney time.