New 2025 MG ZS caught on camera in Australia – and it’s a hybrid

EXCLUSIVE

The next generation of the top-selling 2025 MG ZS small SUV has been photographed in Australia – inside and out – ahead of the first local showroom arrivals likely sometime next year.

For the first time the ZS is expected to be available with hybrid power, to go head-to-head with top-selling hybrids from Toyota – as well as a growing field of rivals from Hyundai, Kia, GWM Haval, Nissan and Honda.

The current MG ZS – on sale since 2017 – is the company's top seller in Australia, and was the most popular small SUV in the country last year, outselling the second-placed Mazda CX-30 by a factor of two to one.

Price rises are likely as the new model will need to fit autonomous emergency braking – absent from today's $22,990 drive-away base model that accounts for most sales – as standard to meet new government rules.

Australian arrival timing for the new ZS is yet to be announced, and few details of the new SUV have been announced by MG overseas.

Given it is yet to be unveiled – due until sometime this year, according to UK reports – it is not expected on sale in Australia until next year.

Asked by Drive for comment on the local prototype, and plans for a new ZS hybrid, an MG Motor Australia spokesperson said: "We can confirm that we currently have a range of new hybrid product on our shores for testing, localisation and compliance purposes."

MORE: Is this the next MG ZS? New SUV wanted in Australia

The design of the new ZS has been exposed in patent images discovered by Drive late last year.

It appears to be a larger vehicle than before – today's model is about 4.3m long, compared to the 4.4m-long Toyota Corolla Cross and Nissan Qashqai – with styling inspired by the latest MG 3 city hatch and MG 5 sedan.

The images received by Drive reveal the new ZS SUV's interior for the first time, which adopts a large infotainment touchscreen and row of physical shortcut buttons similar to the petrol MG 3 and electric MG 4.

The undisguised design of the vehicle can even be seen in the 360-degree camera view on the infotainment screen.

The steering wheel is similar to the MG 3 and MG 4, while there is a more conventional instrument cluster with a covered binnacle – rather than a freestanding 7.0-inch display.

There is no confirmation the ZS prototype spied is a hybrid, nor any badges on the exterior identifying it as an ZS or MG.

However there is an 'EV' sticker on the licence plate – required for hybrid and electric vehicles in New South Wales, where the prototype was registered – but a 'x1000rpm' readout on the right of the instrument display, confirming it is not a full electric car.

It could use a version of the new MG 3's hybrid system, which combines a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor, small battery pack and three-speed automatic transmission for a combined output of 143kW.

MORE: 2024 MG 3 unveiled with hybrid, $5000 price hike for Australia

An earlier, less advanced 1.5-litre hybrid system is already available in the current MG ZS in Thailand as the 'VS', where it develops 130kW with a less powerful engine and electric motor, and continuously variable transmission (CVT).

A new ZS EV electric model is likely to follow the hybrid – and presumably a regular petrol-only model – that reports claim could use technology from the MG 4 electric hatch on sale in Australia.

More details of the 2025 MG ZS range are due closer to its unveiling by the end of this year – according to overseas reports – which could suggest an Australian launch sometime next year.