MG Motor (SAIC)
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Chinese-owned carmaker selling affordable SUVs, hatchbacks and EVs.
MG Motor's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2025, and MG Motor (SAIC) scored 1/100 in the 2026 Lead the Charge leaderboard.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 5 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries, forced or child labour, a failing or very low rating (Lead the Charge 1/100 in 2026) and battery metals and aluminium it can't trace to the mine or smelter. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2025) was a link through a supplier, not a finding against the company itself.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in China, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its battery metals to the mine and its aluminium to smelters outside Xinjiang
Red flags 5
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- Red flag: Failing or very low score on an independent rating: Lead the Charge 1/100 (2026)
- Red flag: Relies on battery metals and aluminium it can't trace to the mine or smelterShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 4 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From MG Motor (SAIC)'s own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: battery metals, aluminium and steel link carmakers to state-imposed forced labour in Xinjiang, child and forced labour in DR Congo's cobalt mines and deadly nickel smelters in Indonesia; aluminium auto parts and lithium-ion batteries from China are on the US forced labour list. Source
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Relies on battery metals such as cobalt and nickel from mines and smelters where workers, including children, face deadly collapses and explosions, and on aluminium that may come from Xinjiang, where the state forces Uyghur workers into mines and smelters that audits can't reach. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its battery metals to the mine or its aluminium to the smelter, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes MG Australia says its cars are made in plants owned and operated by SAIC Motor International in China; the ZS, MG3 and HS are China-built per Chasing Cars. Its statement names aluminium, steel, rubber and lithium as slavery risks but describes no tracing, and its supplier questionnaire and code of conduct were still being drafted. SAIC is last of 18 carmakers on Lead the Charge, isn't an IRMA member and publishes no smelter list.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lead the Charge auto supply chain leaderboard | Problem found | SAIC scored 1% on Human Rights & Responsible Sourcing in the Lead the Charge 2026 leaderboard (3% overall), last of 18; its supplier code isn't public and it scores 0% on minerals. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | SAIC Motor Australia (trading as MG) lodges a modern slavery statement (year to December 2022); its supplier questionnaire and code of conduct were still in development and it describes no tracing of aluminium, steel, rubber or lithium. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names aluminium and aluminium auto parts from China as made with forced labour; MG builds its cars in China. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Neither SAIC nor MG is on the UFLPA Entity List (November 2026). View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Lists SAIC Motor in the Sheffield Hallam (2022) and Bureau of Investigative Journalism (2025) investigations of Uyghur forced labour in car supply chains, with no response from SAIC. View |
Confirmed issues 2
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Link through a supplierThe Bureau of Investigative Journalism listed SAIC Motor, MG's parent, among more than 30 car makers buying from supply chains with Xinjiang forced labour risks, without saying which SAIC brands were affected (TBIJ via Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025). Source · search the archive | Not knownSAIC did not respond to the Bureau's requests for comment. |
| 2022 | Link through a supplierSheffield Hallam University and NomoGaia's Driving Force report named SAIC Motor, MG's parent, among carmakers with supply chain exposure to metals, batteries and parts linked to Uyghur forced labour (Sheffield Hallam University, 2022). Source · search the archive | Not knownSAIC Motor did not respond to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre's request for a response. |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- SAIC scorecard 2026 (Lead the Charge) · search the archive · 3% overall, 1% human rights, 18th of 18; supplier code not public
- Report: Driving Force: automotive supply chains and forced labor in the Uyghur Region (BHRRC) · search the archive · SAIC Motor named; did not respond
- China: More than 30 automobile brands have products with Xinjiang forced labour risks (BHRRC, 2025) · search the archive · TBIJ lists SAIC Motor as a buyer; no response
- IRMA members and partners · search the archive · SAIC and MG aren't IRMA members
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Aluminium and auto parts from China
- The most popular new cars in Australia by country of origin (Chasing Cars, August 2025) · search the archive · MG ZS, MG3 and HS from China
Published by MG Motor (SAIC) or its owner
- MG Modern Slavery Statement 2023 Australia (SAIC Motor Australia) · search the archive · Vehicles made in SAIC-owned plants in China; supplier questionnaire in development; no tracing
Company details
- Owned by
- SAIC Motor Corporation
- Headquarters
- China
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is MG Motor (SAIC) ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/mg-motor, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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