MG Motor UK hopes to defy the new vehicle stock shortages being experienced other carmakers by ramping up imports with its latest shipment to Portbury Docks.
The UK’s fastest-growing car brand this week delivered 2,892 new MGs into the UK against a backdrop of supply constraints caused by the ongoing shortage of semiconductor microchips across the globe.
And over a quarter of the new delivery is made up of its newly-launched MG5 EV Long Range zero-emissions estate car.
The delivery comes ahead of next month’s introduction o the new 71-plate onto UK roads and eclipses the brand’s previous record shipment to the dockside in Bristol – the 2,000 vehicles which arrived in October 2020.
MG Motor UK commercial director, Guy Pigounakis, said: “This is the biggest single shipment of MGs to arrive in the UK and positions us strongly for September.
“There have been stock challenges across the car industry in recent months due to a number of external forces, so it’s reassuring for both our customers and our dealer network to know that MG is in a strong position, with a wide mix of vehicles available to meet market demand.”
AM reported last week on how MG Motor UK’s growing franchised car retail network had continued to grow the brand’s new car registrations despite July’s vehicle supply and COVID-prompted sector headwinds.
Commenting on July’s car registrations data, Society of Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) chief executive Mike Hawes said that shortages of semiconductors and staff were “throttling our ability to translate a strengthening economic outlook into a full recovery”.
But MG recorded the UK new car markets’ biggest volume growth last month, with registrations up 36.6% to 2,411.
The result – detailed in July’s SMMT registrations data – leaves MG’s year-to-date registrations up by 67.5% to 16,005 (YTD 2020: 9,558) as its ambition to reach 130 car dealers in the UK during 2021 rose to 150.
Wilsons Group recently opened the doors to its newest franchised dealership in Epsom, a site described as “strategically important” by the brand.