It seems that not a quarter goes by without another ‘challenger’ brand throwing its hat into the ultra-competitive Aussie ute market, and this time around it’s MG. The Chinese-owned brand with British origins has confirmed it will bring its U9 ute to Australia in the fourth quarter of 2025, initially as a diesel-only offering, with a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid to join the range in 2026.

Essentially a rebadge of the LDV Terron 9 – which is also headed Australia’s way in 2025 – the MG U9 is expected to be pitched primarily at private owners in the mid-to-high-spec 4×4 dual-cab segment, with no word as yet of any tradie-ready variants such as a single cab or cab-chassis.

Under the bonnet, a 2.5L turbo diesel inline four will power the combustion-only U9 models, producing 164kW of power. While a torque output had yet to be confirmed at time of publishing, the U9 is expected to boast around 500Nm, which will put it in close competition with other high-torque four-cylinder dual-cabs like the twin-turbo 2.0L Ford Ranger and big-displacement single-turbo 2.8L Toyota Hilux.

Like its LDV cousin, the MG U9 diesel will be offered with an eight-speed automatic and four-wheel drive as standard, with the company targeting a 1000kg payload and 3,500kg tow rating to put it at the pointy end of the ute segment. Price? With more than half a year until launch it’s still too early to tell, but with stripped-down work-style variants not expected to form part of the U9 range, expect retail pricing to hover somewhere around the $40,000 mark at the entry level.