Moscow Garage: British cars are going to be made in the capital
The Moskvich plant has found a new partner, the Chinese SAIC concern, and will produce MG cars under its brand, industry sources say. According to media reports, the assembly of the machines will begin by the end of this year. The Moskvich press service confirmed that they are looking for new options to expand the model range. Izvestia found out what the new "Muscovites" will be like and what will happen to the existing ones.
I took up the ruler
Moskvich Automobile Plant plans to launch a large-scale assembly of the new M70 model by the end of 2025, and the new product will go on sale in early 2026. This is reported by Vedomosti, citing a source familiar with the company's plans. According to his statement, a meeting was organized between the largest dealers of the brand and the CEO of Moskvich, Hans-Peter Moser, at which plans to bring this model to the market were announced.
The Moskvich press service indirectly confirmed this information to the Izvestia correspondent.
— Currently, as part of the development strategy, the Moskvich brand is considering various options for expanding the model range. We cannot provide comments on specific models or their specifications. Expect official announcements," the company's representative said.
What is known about the new "Muscovites"
The new M70 model was previously announced from the certification documents. The declaration of conformity, which is required for the certification of the model in Russia, indicated the internal factory number of the novelty — AS33. Under this number, the MG HS crossover is produced in China. This is a fresh model — it premiered last year at the "Festival of Speed" in the British Goodwood. The HS is a slightly modified version of another SAIC crossover, the Roewe RX5, which was introduced in 2022.
The MG HS with dimensions of 4.6 m belongs to the mid-size segment. It is slightly larger than the Chery Tiggo 7L. When compared with the existing Moskvich model range, the Seventies is larger than the crossover with the index 3, but smaller than the crossover with the index 8. The MG HS is equipped with a 1.5-liter turbo engine (172 hp) with a 7-speed robot or a 2-liter unit (231 hp) with a 9-the ZF step-by-step "automatic". In the Moskvich variant, the engine power is reduced to 156 and 200 hp, respectively. The drive will be front-wheel drive only.
It is known about the beginning of certification of the second novelty, the M90 crossover. It is based on the MG RX9 model. This is a large seven-seat crossover with a two-liter turbo engine with a capacity of 208 hp (350 Nm) and a 9-speed automatic ZF. The drive can be either front-wheel drive or full-wheel drive. The length of the car is almost five meters with a wheelbase of 2915 mm, that is, it is larger than the Moskvich 8, which now acts as the flagship model of the brand.
A brand with a British past
The MG brand (Morris Garages, that is, "Morris Garages") was originally British and became famous for its sports cars. By the early 2000s, it belonged to MG Rover Group, but after the bankruptcy of the company, it was acquired by the Chinese automaker NAC, which then joined the Shanghai-based SAIC concern. MG machines are developed and manufactured in China, and their production is also established in Thailand, India, Indonesia and Taiwan.
MG has a high export potential. After a record sales in 2023 (840 thousand cars), the brand went into negative territory in 2024, but now the situation has begun to improve. In Europe alone, the MG brand sold more than 220,000 vehicles in nine months, showing double-digit growth.
Russia has not been conquered
MG cars in the early 2000s were sold in Russia as sports versions of Rover models. In addition, dealers offered an unusual mid-engined MG TF roadster. Supplies stopped due to the bankruptcy of the company.
At the beginning of 2024, two distributors expressed their intention to supply Chinese MG to the Russian market. However, sales turned out to be disappointingly low — according to Autostat-info, just over 600 cars were registered last year, and two hundred more cars were registered in the first nine months of this year. Moreover, the MG HS has sold literally several units, and the MG RX9 does not appear in the statistics at all.
Nevertheless, one of the distributors offers to bring cars to order — the price tag for the HS starts from 3.5 million rubles, and for the RX9 — from 4.9 million rubles.
"There will be more interesting cooperation"
Experts interviewed by Izvestia say that Moskvich's current partner, Chinese JAC, is primarily strong in the commercial vehicle segment, but it is not the most advanced player in the passenger car segment. Moreover, sales of the existing model range turned out to be lower than planned. SAIC is a larger concern, in addition, according to some reports, it is involved in the project of the Russian Atom electric car, which will be made at the Moskvich plant.
— Moskvich has not had a very good cooperation with JAC, it is not ready to share technologies. SAIC is a powerful company with a lot of brands. As far as I know, the negotiations have been going on for a long time, but in the end it will be a more interesting cooperation. In addition, the current Moskvich model range offers two crossovers in the most difficult market segments, where the competition is the wildest," says Igor Morzharetto, partner at Autostat.
According to Maxim Kadakov, the editor-in-chief of Za Rudem, the new Moskvichi will be positioned "a little higher" than the crossovers of the existing model range.
— They are really more interesting, more advanced, more powerful, with all—wheel drive, - said Maxim Kadakov. The success of new products will be determined not only by a familiar Russian brand, but also by a favorable price, he believes.
Prospects and risks
MG offers more modern and globally oriented platforms, said Nikita Kolesnikov, a representative of the Japanese export company HSS in the Russian Federation. In addition, cooperation with SAIC provides Moskvich with access to extensive technological resources and reliable supply chains, which is crucial for stable production.
At the same time, MG has not historically been a strong player in Russia, the expert notes. However, we are talking about localized assembly under the recognizable Moskvich brand, which changes the perception. The prospects for a new partnership depend on a number of factors.
— The key advantage is the product itself: the M70 and M90 crossovers are current models with modern turbo engines and automatic transmissions that precisely match the market trend. However, their success will depend entirely on competitive pricing. If the cost turns out to be comparable to the segment leaders — Chery, Haval or Geely — Moskvich has a chance to occupy its niche," notes Nikita Kolesnikov.
According to him, the risks still remain significant. The high cost of Moscow production may not allow us to offer an aggressive price, and a long-term reputation will be formed only as we gain operational experience and develop our service network.
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