SINGAPORE – In 2025, half of all electric vehicle (EV) registrations will be from Chinese brands, with premium European brands taking the other half. This is the projection by Mr Karsono Kwee, executive chairman of multi-franchise motor dealer Eurokars Group.

Speaking to The Straits Times in an exclusive interview on Jan 9 at the MG’s exhibition booth at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, the 76-year-old motor tycoon is driven to take a sizeable chunk of the Chinese EV pie in Singapore.

He is doing this by rejuvenating the Chinese-owned MG brand with new products and showrooms, as part of the refresh to two of his company’s properties, which is expected to cost between $45 million and $47 million.

The MG distributorship, which Eurokars clinched for Singapore in 2020, has been a steady sales performer, being the second biggest-selling Chinese brand in the country. MG offers EVs and petrol-hybrid models in Singapore, giving it a broader appeal than other Chinese brands that have only EVs.

But just as leading Chinese brand BYD is pulling well ahead of pretty much every other car brand in Singapore, MG is mounting a sustained product offensive, said Mr Kwee.

In the next 12 months, seven new and refreshed models will land in its Singapore showroom. Five will wear the familiar octagon-shaped MG badge, while two are branded with a stylised “IM” emblem.

The IM5 is a low-slung EV, which is nearly as big as the Porsche Taycan, while the IM6 is a large electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) with hints of the Aston Martin DBX. Both are expected to be in Singapore by the third quarter of 2025. In China, the cars are known as the IM L6 and IM LS6.

The exact specification and likely pricing of these models for Singapore are still being worked out, but for Mr Kwee and his daughter Charmain Kwee, who is the group’s executive director, the IM products will be benchmarked against BYD and American EV brand Tesla.

IM Motors is MG’s premium offshoot. It was founded in 2020 as a joint venture among e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, Shanghai-listed property developer Zhangjiang Hi-Tech and MG’s owner, Chinese state-owned carmaker SAIC Motor.

The products are said to have a technology focus, boasting faster charging speed, longer operating range and advanced safety features.

Based on the IM5 and IM6 displays at Suntec, IM models seem to have a more flamboyant bent than MG.

The LED tail lights on the IM5, for example, display an animated pup...