Another high-end Chinese brand on the way: MG to spin off 'Cyber' as a sub-brand to challenge BYD's Denza, Geely's Zeekr, and more hardcore offerings from GWM

MG said, at recent Shanghai motor show, its Cyber X concept heralded further expansion of the Cyber name.

MG's head of New Energy Product Communications, Troy Wang, confirmed the Cyber brand would become its own product line.

“This is the first of a whole Cyber products line”, said Wang. He said in the future the brand would expand on the Cyber family with even more models “within two years”.

He said there will be more sports cars under the Cyber brand and there would be more bodystyles, too, and all Cyber-branded vehicles would be halo models in the greater MG range.

“The prices will be much more expensive than the [other] MGs, it’s a new series.” he said.

Wang also indicated that the Cyber X would herald a new era and design language for MG’s range. He said it was the first of many new Cyber-branded products to be penned under the brand’s new design boss, Jozef Kaban, of Bugatti Veyron fame.

“All designs will be from Mr Kaban, our new designer. This car is the first SUV he designed after he joined MG.”

Wang said the Cyber X had the possibility of offering not just fully electric power, but also hybrid, as many rivals are currently expanding into to hedge their bets against slowing EV sales.

The Cyber X has made a splash for MG. Boxy off-road vehicles are extremely trendy in the Chinese domestic market, with MG no doubt wanting to cash in on this trend.

The Cyberster has turned heads when it arrived in Australia, with scissor-style doors and now the option of both rear- and all-wheel drive purely electric power. It is yet to make much of a dent on the sales front, moving just 19 units so far this year. 

MG is also launching its IM electric sub-brand in Australia later this year, which will feature a range of more upmarket electric models under the moniker ‘IM presented by MG’. These vehicles could reach into six-figure territory .

MG isn’t the only brand trying its hand at pricier, boxier SUVs.

BYD has challenged the market with its controversial Shark 6 PHEV ute, which it seems may be soon followed-up with its more premium SUV relation from its FangChengBao marque, perhaps wearing a Denza badge. GWM could reach into six-figure territory soon, continuing to hint that it will launch the range-topping Tank 700 PHEV off-road SUV to our market. Chery has options to choose from, too, should it tap into future right-hand drive versions of boxy off-road SUVs from its Jetour brand.

One thing is for sure, the landscape of even premium cars may look a little different in a few years.