MG BKK 2014-2

The MG brand has made its Thai debut at the ongoing 2014 Bangkok Motor Show, where nine MG6s are on display at the exhibition. The car is scheduled to get its full market launch in June.

Only one engine variant has been named for the Thai market, a petrol version equipped with a turbocharged 1.8 TCi-Tech four-pot, with 161 PS at 5,500 rpm and 215 Nm at 1,750 to 4,500 rpm for numbers. While it's sold in the UK with a five-speed manual transmission, the Thai version is set to be equipped with a dual-clutch transmission.

The brand, which is owned by Chinese automaker SAIC Motor, will be represented in the Kingdom by MG Sales Thailand, a subsidiary of the holding JV company set up by SAIC and Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group. A network of 30 dealerships nationwide is close to completion and is scheduled to begin operations within the second quarter of 2014.

The Thai-market MG6 will be locally assembled at the new SAIC/Charoen JV assembly plant at the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Rayong, which has been built to cater for RHD production for Thailand and ASEAN markets.