This is it: 2024 MG3 hatch revealed, thanks to design patent images

September: Our exclusive renders show the new MG 3's final design

Here it is.

Thanks to the detailed patent images published in early August, our mate Theo has crafted what should be a near pixel-perfect look at the new 2024 MG 3 hatch in its showroom form.

What do you think of the look? Tell us in the comments, and catch up on the story below.

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August 8: New MG3 revealed in patent images

A replacement for the popular MG 3 light hatch appears closer than ever, with new patent images revealing what is believed to be the new model.

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The next-generation 2024 MG 3 will sport a modern design similar to the MG 4, MG 5 and updated HS if design patents submitted to the European Union Intellectual Property Office prove accurate.

However, a recent report suggests it won't be called 'MG 3', at least overseas.

“MG 3 will effectively be the first [new product]. That’s long overdue a replacement, that will happen springtime [autumn for Australia] next year,” said MG UK product planning boss David Allison in an interview with Auto Express in June.

“MG 3 will continue for another 12 to 18 months, before it’s replaced. But we won’t call it MG 3," he added.

To keep it affordable, the new model is unlikely to feature any form of electrification.

It is believed the new model is around the corner, with its development said to have commenced more than three years ago using a “scalable platform” seen on current MG vehicles.

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A local launch is expected later in 2024 to replace the current MG 3, Australia’s top-selling light car.

Speaking to Wheels from parent company SAIC's global headquarters in Shanghai, MG global chief designer, Oleg Son, said: "This car [the new MG 3]… will be launched next year."

"I came to this company in 2020 and this car was already well on its way. It’s a different platform [to MG 4], but we have a scalable platform, so we choose the platform depending on the cost. Not every platform is suitable for every car."

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The new MG 3 has a lower front grille and slimmer headlights reminiscent of the MG 5, while it features horizontal tail-lights similar to the ZS small SUV – with LED technology likely on flagship variants – rather than the current vertical units.

A larger front overhang would likely assist in meeting more-stringent safety testing, with the current MG 3 untested by ANCAP – but it received a now-expired three-star Euro NCAP rating in 2014.

A five-stud wheel pattern suggests it will be underpinned by a new platform, potentially sharing components with the one-size-up MG 5 small sedan.

Expect autonomous emergency braking – required for all vehicles introduced in Australia after March 1, 2023 – and other active safety tech to become available.

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However, while autonomous emergency braking is almost certain, other safety features could be absent in Australia.

For instance, local examples of the MG 5 lack lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alerts, and speed recognition or driver monitoring systems, and the entry-level variant is not fitted with rear seatbelt reminders.

ANCAP assesses active safety equipment in its ‘safety assist’ and ‘vulnerable road user’ categories, with minimum scores of 70 per cent required to achieve a five-star rating or 60 per cent for a four-star rating.

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The interior of the new hatch has not been revealed, but recent MG products suggest a modernised look with a larger, floating infotainment system, a semi-digital instrument cluster, and an electronic handbrake.

Under the bonnet, a familiar 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine is likely, with circa-85kW and 150Nm and efficiency improvements.

It could switch to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), replacing the current four-speed torque-converter unit, in line with the MG 5.

The current MG 3 hatch dates back to 2011, with a facelift and automatic introduced in mid-2018.

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Above: the MG 5's interior is a likely preview for the new MG 3 hatch

It is now priced from $19,990 drive-away – one of two new cars below $20,000 – up from $15,990 when the automatic version launched in 2018.

With other light hatch rivals such as the Mazda 2, Toyota Yaris and Suzuki Swift dearer than ever, and the recent discontinuation of the Kia Rio, the MG 3 faces little competition at the bottom end of the Australian new-car market – apart from the one-size-smaller Kia Picanto micro hatch.

But price rises are still likely, with the new MG 3 likely to rise to around $22,000 drive-away – compared to $23,990 drive-away for the base ZS small SUV and $24,990 drive-away for the MG 5 petrol sedan.

Earlier, we imagined the new MG 3 might look a little like this...

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2025 MG 3 hatch rendering | Theottle [↗], © Wheels Media.

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2025 MG 3 hatch rendering | Theottle [↗], © Wheels Media.

Speculative renderings, above – commissioned by Wheels Media prior to the emergence of the patent images – show a similar, but more upmarket, design for the next-generation MG 3.

Below: The current 2023 MG 3 hatch

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