Next-gen cut-price hybrid SUV here very soon: Here's when you can get into the new Hyundai Kona and Toyota Corolla Cross rivalling 2025 MG ZS small SUV and what to expect from its overhauled range

MG has confirmed launch plans for its next-generation ZS small SUV, currently its highest-selling and most important model in Australia.

The brand’s Chief Operating Officer, Giles Belcher, told CarsGuide the new ZS was on track for a launch before the end of 2024.

“We’ll launch the ZS hybrid in November, and petrol will follow, probably toward the end of Q1 next year.”

The ZS brings the range back together after the outgoing version was split into the original ZS small SUV wearing dated styling and the new turbocharged ZST and ZS EV, that shared a facelifted design and updated chassis.

The next-gen ZS is built on a completely new platform shared with the MG3, and will adopt the same hybrid drivetrain consisting of a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a hybrid transmission with a powerful electric motor. It is expected to remain front-wheel drive only.

Don’t expect the ZS to remain the budget offering that originally made it so popular in Australia. The new version is expected to take a solid price-hike following in the footsteps of the MG3 before it. In the UK the new ZS is priced at the equivalent of $42,750 for the hybrid base model.

2025 MG ZS Hybrid (EU verson shown)

In its standard UK trim it is offered with a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, LED headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, as well as cloth seat trim with manual adjust, although even the base car gets the full array of active driver assist features.

More price-conscious buyers will need to wait for the petrol versions later in 2025, with MG promising it will continue to offer ‘value’ in every segment.

The brand also confirmed the ZS EV will not be “directly” replaced, and will instead be spun off into its own model line.

2025 MG ZS Hybrid (EU verson shown)

“The EV model will change, we haven’t finalised plans for that, but it won’t be a direct replacement, instead it will be a whole new model.” Belcher explained.

He added that it would be a significant upgrade from the current ZS EV which is based on a combustion platform.

“This is a ground-up EV built on the same platform as the MG4” he said.

2025 MG ZS Hybrid (EU verson shown)

It looks likely the ZS EV’s replacement was recently shown in China as the MG ES5.

MG is set for a busy new model launch program over the course of 2025. It is due to add a plug-in hybrid version of its new-generation HS mid-size SUV, as well as an all-but-confirmed electric mid-size spin-off as the next-generation Marvel R, an as-yet-unseen seven-seat SUV offering and the MG7 sportback to sit alongside the new ZS, MG3 and Cyberster, which arrived this year.

2025 MG ZS Hybrid (EU verson shown)

Giles said MG will make up for a small amount of lost ground in 2024 and is confident it will finish in a top-10 position next year despite new rivals like BYD closing in and GWM capitalising on segments MG is yet to play in.

The brand has ambitions to potentially add a more upmarket electric vehicle from SAIC’s IM brand in China restyled with MG elements. MG has recently been vocal about its desire to add a dual-cab ute to its range, despite its sister brand, LDV, offering SAIC’s commercial catalogue locally via importer Ateco.

Stay tuned as MG locks in more launch plans for 2025.

2025 MG ZS Hybrid (EU verson shown)