An information share in NZ’s sister market suggests 2024 might be a busy year for the make here.

ELECTRIC assist is in line for the smallest and cheapest car in the MG family, but it’ll still have to pull up at the pump.

Confirmation that the MG3 (above) will arrive with a plug-in hybrid drive in marriage with a petrol engine and be available within the April-June period has come out of the make’s regional office in Australia.

The Melbourne operation ultimately oversees New Zealand affairs, regardless that each country has it own manager.

In addition to revealing information about the new generation of the Chinese-run British heritage marque’s baby model, MG’s regional base has also revealed that 2024 will also definitely bring the electric Cyberster sports car to this part of the world, as well as a fresh generation of the HS crossover.

MG had previously indicated the Cyberster (below) was under strong consideration for Australia, but stopped short of confirming it, media there say.

This all unrolls as another important brand story comes to the boil - the next-generation ZS having been revealed by patent office filings out of Europe. That car is also potentially set to hit NZ roads before next Christmas.

Those images, seen here, deliver a surprise … and potential disappointment, in that the new ZS is more like a development of the current one, in production since 2016. 

There’d been lots of hope it might be more adventurous and adopt the same styling direction as the brand’s most radical model of the moment, the MG4. 

The stories are carried by the online portal for Australia’s Wheels magazine. In assessing the computer-generated images, including the one below, it has decided the new ZS  is “somewhat tame, with lines that could have been borrowed from a Suzuki or Chevrolet of yesteryear.” Ouch!

Despite its yesteryear look, the next ZS is moving forward in respect to its architecture, being built on MG's new Modular Scalable Platform, that underpins MG4 and the Cyberster.

Next-generation MG 3’s first foray into hybrid drive won’t stop it continuing with simply a petrol engine, a format that currently presents as a 82kW/150Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder from $20,490.

Exactly what engines the new MG 3 will use remains to be seen, though it’s thought likely the hybrid system will combine a 70kW/200Nm e-motor and 2.1kWh battery pack with a version of that engine.

Wheels quotes an “MG spokesperson” as confirming the new model will arrive across the Tasman in the second quarter of next year.

"MG Motor can confirm our line up for next year (2024) to include an all new MG3 available in both ICE and Hybrid, as well as the all new HS and Cyberster,” said the spokesperson. 

“The all new MG3 is an all new platform with different driveline options including hybrid and petrol.

“We look forward to sharing specifications and pricing closer to launch time which is earmarked for Q2 in 2024 at this current time.”