A new Chinese-made sedan is soaring in popularity despite a zero crash test score, making it an unsafe car by modern standards.
The MG5 only went on sale in Australia in August, but 1,888 have already been sold, with Al Perkins from Married At First Sight and Love Island appearing in the messages of support on Instagram.
More MG5 sedans were sold in three months than Honda Civics were sold in 11 months, with 1,164 of those better-known Japanese hatchbacks leaving showrooms from January to November, data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries showed.
A new Chinese-made sedan is soaring in popularity despite a zero score in a crash test, making it an unsafe car
The MG5 only went on sale in Australia in August, but 1,888 have already been sold, with Al Perkins from Married At First Sight and Love Island appearing in the messages of support on Instagram.
The small car from China was a sales hit last month before ANCAP – or the Australasian New Car Assessment Program – revealed the MG5 scored zero out of a possible five stars.
The MG5 is also a recent model, with production not starting until March 2023, which removes the excuse that it is an old model that recently came to market.
In the safety assistance category, the MG5 scored a dismal 2.48 out of 18, or 13 percent, because it lacked features common in modern cars, such as driver fatigue monitoring.
ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg said MG had “misjudged the safety expectations of today's consumers” by designing it with previous-generation safety features.
“This is a stark reminder that not all cars offer the same level of safety, even if they are brand new models,” she said.
The MG5 scored poorly in terms of risk of injury to the driver's chest and legs in a full frontal collision at 50 km/h.
It was also believed that backseat passengers would suffer chest and leg injuries in an accident.
The MG5 comes standard with dual front, side chest protection and side head airbags.
But it doesn't have a central airbag that prevents the driver and front passenger from colliding in the event of a crash.
The MG5 was also discounted due to defect seat belt pretensioners in the Vibe base model and a driver monitoring system that detects fatigue.
ANCAP assesses new cars on the protection of adult occupants, the protection of children, the protection of vulnerable road users and safety assistance.
The MG5 scored 15 out of 40, or 37 percent for adult occupant protection.
It scored 42 percent for the protection of vulnerable pedestrians and 58 percent for the protection of children.
An MG spokeswoman said the MG5 met Australian design regulations and safety improvements would be added in 2024.
“MG has worked closely with the Australian Government to ensure that the MG5 complies with the relevant Australian Design Rules (ADRs) for vehicle design when first delivered to the Australian market,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
'The MG5 is certified and approved for sale in Australia and complies with the (ADR) regulations to be sold.
'In 2024, the MG5 will receive a safety package upgrade that will increase the overall safety of this model in line with ANCAP's rating system.'
The small car from China was a sales hit last month before ANCAP – or the Australasian New Car Assessment Program – revealed the MG5 scored zero stars out of a possible five.
The MG5 is also a recent model, with production not starting until March 2023, which removes the excuse that it is an old model that has recently entered the market
In November, the MG5 was Australia's fourth most popular small car with 758 sales per month, behind the Toyota Corolla (1,976 sales), Hyundai i30 (1,566 sales) and Kia Cerato (782 sales).
With a drive-away price of $24,990 for the entry-level Vibe, it significantly undercuts the most affordable i30 hatch at $26,290, the entry-level Cerato at $26,590 and the cheapest Corolla at $29,270.
The Civic is now a premium model priced from $47,200, and was once a budget hatch.
MG was Australia's seventh most popular brand with a 4.9 percent market share from January to November, behind Mitsubishi on 5.2 percent but ahead of Tesla on 3.9 percent.