Will we see a change of service level ?

[leomindel]

In my opinion, MG presently sell cars on a model similar to Android phones. You get what you pay for, the car is designed to last for a set time, requiring minimal to zero support from the manufacturer, after which you throw it away.

When I purchased my MG5, the service options were limited, the car is under 3 years old but MG have abandoned it in terms of upgrades, as evidenced by numerous posts regarding Carplay and Tesla Charging.

However, as previously stated, you get what you pay for. The car requires virtually no maintenance to remain functionally operational, and the depreciation essentially makes the car a total write-off after about 8 years.

The problem for MG is the Cybester is a much larger investment and also sits in a market where after sales support and upgrades are expected. I am not sure how MG will deal with this. Tesla owners expect over the air upgrades similar to the iPhone model with new features and functionality. Landover, assuming your car does not get stolen you get experience days out and big yearly serving plans.

I would be interested in the views, will MG still carry on with the you Buy and they wave Bye Bye as you drive away or will they look at long term customer interaction ?

 

[Brusque]

90% will be sold PCP/Lease, with most owners handing the car back for a new one after 4 years.

Overaal, 17-20% of used cars are purchased on PCP, but I suspect increasingly, a large percentage of 4 year old cars are financed this way. Its quite concievable, that for the period of the warranty, these cars will remain effectively under MG UK's stewardship, and never enter the wider used car market. Saw it 30 years ago with the MX5, where, for a period, you could not get a used MX5 outside of a Mazda dealer, leading to inflated used values (the model was broken with grey imports came to the UK).

Whats the margin on these Cybersters? I bet its very high, with substantial part sharing with the econobox MG4. High enough they extract what value they can out of the cars (accepting zero value outside of the warranty), shipping them back to China in empty SAIC-owned transporters for recycling (is the value of the parts, the battery, at that point more than the sum of the parts in the UK market).

I expect given the likely churn rate of new models, horrific depreciation of older EV designs as they become rapidly obsolete, with extremely poor parts support. This was the case with Hyundai 20 years ago, which you couldn't really get parts for anything other than service over 6 years old. Do you wonder why the Hyundai Accent has basically disappeared off the UK's roads.

 

[GranTurismoEra]

Hit the nail with used unsold or beyond 7 year warranty cars returning to China for recycling. Keep the value high by keeping as many as possible in the dealer network.

Relationship with customers will be key to ensuring values stabilize. Customer support and software updates for important features are a must at this price point. Service levels can make or break MG with this car.

Margin on these Cybersters are high as discussed in other threads in the early days last year. After clearing MG will still make a good amount, when you convert the exchange rates and add the import fees. In China they sell for around 35-39k apparently or under 300,000 Yuan. I may be wrong. If they can sell 1000-2000 per year its still profitable because UK, Thailand, Australia are taking the full brunt of the premium costs.

Parts availability is down to MG to rectify as apparently been an issue on other models. Theyll be hoping theres no recalls or major issues.

If MG want to dominate, customer relationships are of upmost importance. Im sure theyre waiting to see how these new models take off. Before making plans for variations such as coupes or other similar sport models.

 

[Brusque]

555. They are never going to dominate in sports cars. Head to head, this car will always come out 3rd best against its peers. This car will be outsold 100 to 1 by the MG4, Hectors whatever.

It seems the current dealer network is barely adequate, let alone compared to a Mercedes or Porsche dealer.

I expect they will make this car for 4 or 5 years, before replacing it with something completely different. Only took 3 years on a shoestring to design.

Values of Cybersters are irrelevant; they are never going to get out onto non-MG forecourts.

If you have a Boxster, and take it to your Porsche dealer for the major service, the loan car will be a Porsche, probably a Maycan, but still a Porsche.

Pop into Mercedes, Jaguar. Same story. Go to MG, and it will be some s*itty MG3 in poverty spec, with a big sticker down the side saying something like £99 down, 0%. That will be the difference in customer experience MG can never bridge.

I'm going to predict, after a about 2 years, Cyberster owners in the UK will be posting shots of forum of rusty rear subframes, and "what gives".

 

[Verdigris]

For a non-MG owner you certainly have a lot of opinions about them.

 

[GranTurismoEra]

Im talking about dominate in terms if sales of conventional SUVs and Hatchbacks. Current numbers are good and currently undertaking more established brands since resurgence. Thats why im talking about customer relationships. Sports cars in the EV era is a thing that can become MGs for the working class in future if they wish. It depends if MG want to venture back into that area. Being the first mainstream roadster since Tesla gives them a slight edge they can learn and develop further. Nissan are still researching this with Formula E?! But theyre waiting on Solid State Batteries and looking at the weight issue.

Im my opinion the reason MX5 has been talked about when its a different market is thats what people want. They're willing to forgive it being EV if it follows the same formula. If Mazda do an EV MX5 at 1300kg no reason MG couldnt do a smaller Cyberster at say 1500kg with solid state battery and good range. Maybe around the 30-40k mark?! We,ll see.

Sure Porsche and co will meet them at a later date at higher price points. I live in London and see MG4, 5 all over the gaff. Everything is a process. Tesla werent that great during the time of the roadster it took time to build up the brand with the model S. Surely a learning process. I dont think the Chinese are going to accept mediocrity. SAIC arent a small company. Neither are BYD or Nio. Look at China, theyve come far very quickly. Sure there are political issues that we may not agree with. Considering they didn't have much of a car industry years back. Just purely imitations...to what they have now with aome inspiration and accused plagiarism (Xiaomi SU7). Lots of videos which look like anti Chinese propaganda criticizing it...even though europeans are in on the design...Basically theyre still in the alpha stages of development. Porsche, Jaguar and co have been well established for over 100 years....Chinese MG is 15 to 20 years old.....its like being back in 1950s....you cant compare New MG with Porsche who are over 100 years old...I dont think mediocrity will be accepted long term. What car industry do we have? The ones you mentioned are run by foreign entities who have been through tough times many times. Porsches famous bore scoring and ims issues. In the same time i owned a Nissan Z, There are guys who spend £3500 on repairs in Cayman and even more on engine replacements im bmws. No cars perfect.

 

[tsedge]

Don't forget the "Ignore" function on the forums folks, it is great for people who you don't want to keep hearing from.

Responding to @leomindel, I don't know where you get "write off after 8 years" from. There are tons of old Teslas still running well beyond their warranty limits and still holding value, no reason why MG EVs can't do the same. The batteries should last longer than the car. Just because newer tech will be available doesn't invalidate the value of older cars (as has always been the case). Right now people are paying thousands for small 12 year old petrol cars that are practically worn out, I think an EV is good value against that.

On MG service quality, earlier the Cyberster was talked about as having to have its own sales area in dealerships, a premier level of service etc... and originally they were going to restrict which dealers could sell it. Not sure what the final plan is yet but it sounds as if they are well aware of the need to provide better service.

 

[leomindel]

Responding to @leomindel, I don't know where you get "write off after 8 years" from. There are tons of old Teslas still running well beyond their warranty limits and still holding value, no reason why MG EVs can't do the same. The batteries should last longer than the car. Just because newer tech will be available doesn't invalidate the value of older cars (as has always been the case). Right now people are paying thousands for small 12 year old petrol cars that are practically worn out, I think an EV is good value against that.

With many things companies write off a purchase over a set time. It does not mean there is no residual value. Take a mobile phone, you pay £1000 but after 3 years you buy another. It still may have a sell value of £150. At the moment the depreciation on EV cars is high.

I am agreeing with you second hand EVs could represent amazing value however I would not be surprised if Insurance companies will claim any accident repair on a 7+ year car is a write off. This could affect the insurance rate.

Thanks for correcting my quick comment and I hope I have now clarified my point.

 

[pollenface]

You get what you pay for

Couldn't agree more.

 

[GranTurismoEra]

I am agreeing with you second hand EVs could represent amazing value however I would not be surprised if Insurance companies will claim any accident repair on a 7+ year car is a write off. This could affect the insurance rate.

You get what you pay for

Depends on the value of the car and the cost of repair. The waiting time on parts for other asian brands are waiting weeks or months for parts. I had to wait 12 months for a part from Nissan that came via Netherlands. Shipping from China is usually 3 to 4 weeks.

Other brands like Porsche offer higher levels but also higher costs and reliability isn't guaranteed just because you paid more. £1000 pound service is standard on the older 911 Carrera beyond 3 years..

I do agree high depreciation on EV. Porsche Taycan high trim for example 47% in 3 years

Also body shops charge 4 to 8 times the value of private repair in some instances. A simple panel smack that needs replacing can be £2500+ vs £300 - £400. Not to mention courtesy car rental etc. My colleague took out a supercar (Lamborghini Huracan) for a month as his older 911 997 was damaged. These things cost everyone dearly.

 

[Brusque]

Don't forget the "Ignore" function on the forums folks, it is great for people who you don't want to keep hearing from.

You should use that feature instead of trolling every post I make (it seems like).

 

[Brusque]

Im talking about dominate in terms if sales of conventional SUVs and Hatchbacks. Current numbers are good and currently undertaking more established brands since resurgence. Thats why im talking about customer relationships. Sports cars in the EV era is a thing that can become MGs for the working class in future if they wish. It depends if MG want to venture back into that area. Being the first mainstream roadster since Tesla gives them a slight edge they can learn and develop further. Nissan are still researching this with Formula E?! But theyre waiting on Solid State Batteries and looking at the weight issue.

Im my opinion the reason MX5 has been talked about when its a different market is thats what people want. They're willing to forgive it being EV if it follows the same formula. If Mazda do an EV MX5 at 1300kg no reason MG couldnt do a smaller Cyberster at say 1500kg with solid state battery and good range. Maybe around the 30-40k mark?! We,ll see.

Sure Porsche and co will meet them at a later date at higher price points. I live in London and see MG4, 5 all over the gaff. Everything is a process. Tesla werent that great during the time of the roadster it took time to build up the brand with the model S. Surely a learning process. I dont think the Chinese are going to accept mediocrity. SAIC arent a small company. Neither are BYD or Nio. Look at China, theyve come far very quickly. Sure there are political issues that we may not agree with. Considering they didn't have much of a car industry years back. Just purely imitations...to what they have now with aome inspiration and accused plagiarism (Xiaomi SU7). Lots of videos which look like anti Chinese propaganda criticizing it...even though europeans are in on the design...Basically theyre still in the alpha stages of development. Porsche, Jaguar and co have been well established for over 100 years....Chinese MG is 15 to 20 years old.....its like being back in 1950s....you cant compare New MG with Porsche who are over 100 years old...I dont think mediocrity will be accepted long term. What car industry do we have? The ones you mentioned are run by foreign entities who have been through tough times many times. Porsches famous bore scoring and ims issues. In the same time i owned a Nissan Z, There are guys who spend £3500 on repairs in Cayman and even more on engine replacements im bmws. No cars perfect.

Porsche is not a 100 year old car company; while it has pre-WW2 origins, its first car was the 356 in 1947. Chinese MG is a brand of SAIC. SAIC has experience building cars.

I am not particularly concerned about the sinonization of MG; I am indifferent to the national origins.

What SAIC and the other Chinese car companies are seeking is the commodisation of the car (they're not alone in that). What that means is the customer has complete indifference to design, efficiency and other characteristic attributes of cars.

Im talking about dominate in terms if sales of conventional SUVs and Hatchbacks. Current numbers are good and currently undertaking more established brands since resurgence. Thats why im talking about customer relationships. Sports cars in the EV era is a thing that can become MGs for the working class in future if they wish. It depends if MG want to venture back into that area. Being the first mainstream roadster since Tesla gives them a slight edge they can learn and develop further. Nissan are still researching this with Formula E?! But theyre waiting on Solid State Batteries and looking at the weight issue.

Im my opinion the reason MX5 has been talked about when its a different market is thats what people want. They're willing to forgive it being EV if it follows the same formula. If Mazda do an EV MX5 at 1300kg no reason MG couldnt do a smaller Cyberster at say 1500kg with solid state battery and good range. Maybe around the 30-40k mark?! We,ll see.

Sure Porsche and co will meet them at a later date at higher price points. I live in London and see MG4, 5 all over the gaff. Everything is a process. Tesla werent that great during the time of the roadster it took time to build up the brand with the model S. Surely a learning process. I dont think the Chinese are going to accept mediocrity. SAIC arent a small company. Neither are BYD or Nio. Look at China, theyve come far very quickly. Sure there are political issues that we may not agree with. Considering they didn't have much of a car industry years back. Just purely imitations...to what they have now with aome inspiration and accused plagiarism (Xiaomi SU7). Lots of videos which look like anti Chinese propaganda criticizing it...even though europeans are in on the design...Basically theyre still in the alpha stages of development. Porsche, Jaguar and co have been well established for over 100 years....Chinese MG is 15 to 20 years old.....its like being back in 1950s....you cant compare New MG with Porsche who are over 100 years old...I dont think mediocrity will be accepted long term. What car industry do we have? The ones you mentioned are run by foreign entities who have been through tough times many times. Porsches famous bore scoring and ims issues. In the same time i owned a Nissan Z, There are guys who spend £3500 on repairs in Cayman and even more on engine replacements im bmws. No cars perfect.

The Chinese are looking for the commoditisation of cars, ie. indifference to design, efficiency and other characteristic attributes of cars. The only differentiator will be price. Which means we all get really fast cars that are comfortable, roomy, and affordable. But zero brand loyalty, Maybe that doesn't matter. Most people can't recall what fridge, washing machine they have. The old school audiophiles have more or less disappeared.

And that commoditisation is inevitable, due to trends in urbanisation.

When people become less attached to car brands, then car enthusiasm fades, along with the social media.

 

[GranTurismoEra]

EVs were never meant to be Enthusiasts vehicles anyway. MG saw an obvious gap and decided to capitalize on it....The only reason people on Chinese forums are trying to meet and organize events with the Cyberster, is that people who were petrol heads before still share that interest of meeting up....Dealers/MG clubs may organize road trips and events for owners at their discretion. Enthusiasm may fade and return with a new generation of owners (Gen Z and Millennials) or older gens who werent interested in MG in the past. As i stated on 350 forums. If ppl dont embrace the change a new generation will. Obviously car enthusiasm will reduce in the short term but once the market is flooded with EVs there will be people with an interest in them.

Brand loyalty is a waste of time. I learnt that a long time ago. But it also helps to retain customers and keep them happy. People can say what they want about Chinese vehicles. The EU are still investigating government sponsorship of Chinese manufacturers looking to impose sanctions and tarrifs. The Germans have advised them against it as the Chinese government can impose tariffs of their own on German vehicles.

Chinese market is 5 times that of USA. The Germans dont want to lose that market. Also locals are now believing in their products from what ive seen. BYD is outselling Tesla in China by a long margin. BMW and co all have claimed high safety ratings yet crashes in Birmingham at 60 miles per hour killing both occupants. Car disintegrating into a million pieces with car cut open on impact.

I think at a penalty of weight the Cyberster is a more solid car than you give it credit for. Ive seen it in the flesh and it looks good.. Theyre only bringing 1500 this year apparently and most of it is gone. Obviously ill revisit it on the used market directly from MG maybe a year or so time....but in meantime ill get something else.