Energy
Friday, August 19th, 2022 9:54 am EDT
What do you do when you want to buy an electric car and you don’t trust this newfangled internet thingy? You go to your local dealer, where you have bought cars before, because rural country car buyers trust their local car dealers. Like Gympie MG, just north of Brisbane. MG vehicles — in full electric, plugin hybrid, and petrol forms — are becoming quite common on Australian roads.
MG, standing for Morris Garages, has gone from a historic sports car brand based in Oxford, England, to a budget car company — SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) — based in Shanghai, China. “The MG marque along with other assets of MG Rover was purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group (which merged into SAIC in 2007),” Wikipedia states. “MG production restarted in 2007 in China. The first new MG model in the UK for 16 years, the MG 6, was launched on 26 June 2011.”
Using your trusted local dealer makes a lot of sense for technologically averse people in Gympie — a small country town 2 hours north of Brisbane. People in the area trust Gympie MG, and they’ve ordered six MG ZS EVs locally. Gympie MG also sells the ZS with other drivetrains and features, and it highlights the EV+ (hybrid) on its opening page.
MG is currently the second highest selling EV brand in Australia, only behind Tesla. However, the EV scene in Australia is changing rapidly and BYD is expected to occupy this spot by the end of the year. Thousands of MG destination chargers have been distributed to tourist spots throughout Australia in preparation for the wide take-up of MGs EVs.
At the recent Gympie Envirotech event, we heard the story of a successful local MG dealer. One older pensioner couple told me how they could now afford an electric car because they hadn’t been able to go on cruises for two years due to Covid. “We’ve saved up our money and we are going to buy an electric MG,” they said. Why MG? Because there is a local dealership. “The dealer says that he already has orders for 6 MG ZS EVs!” Buy local was a theme we heard often. New car buyers willing to try the new technology want to deal with someone they could trust to deliver the servicing and spare parts that may be needed.
Let me know if you have had a positive experience at your local dealer. How common is this feeling in rural areas?
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