The MG 4 is already one of Australia’s cheapest electric cars, but that apparently isn’t enough for the Chinese brand.
UK publication Auto Express reports MG is working on a smaller – think around MG 3-size – vehicle to slot in underneath the MG 4.
MG Motor UK’s head of product and planning, David Allison, told the outlet the project is already in progress.
“I’ve seen it already, in fact. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t fly. It’s probably a couple of years away, maybe 18 months, so we’re talking second half of 2025. But we’ll get there,” said Mr Allison.
MG 4
“I think everyone seems to be looking in that area at the moment – B-segment or just below it, around four metres in length, with that magic €20,000 [$33,068) price bracket.
“If anyone’s going to do that, we should be right there… It’s a combination of range, size and price – and if you hit all those three, you’ll nail it.”
The 4287mm-long MG 4 currently opens at $39,990 before on-road costs in Australia, just above the similarly sized Dolphin from rival Chinese brand BYD – which already has a smaller sibling in the 3780mm-long Seagull that’s not offered here.
In Germany, the MG 4 opens at €34,990 (A$57,846).
Technically, MG already has an EV smaller than the MG 4 in the Comet offered in India, though it’s a rebadged Wuling Air and won’t be sold in markets like Australia. There doesn’t appear to be any plans to sell it in Europe, either.
MG 3
As to what name the new model will wear, MG 2 appears likely.
“It’ll probably get a new name but it would sit quite nicely within the existing convention,” said Mr Allison.
“If you said MG 2 then you wouldn’t be a million miles away; 2 is the next step.”
MG’s naming structure confusingly doesn’t demarcate its combustion-powered and electric vehicles. The MG 4 and MG 5 sedan are both small cars, for example, but the former is electric and the latter (in Australia) is larger and has petrol power but costs less.
BYD Seagull
The brand also has two different MG 5s, depending on the market: one petrol (the sedan sold here), one electric (a wagon sold in Europe).
The MG 2 could be smaller than the MG 3, a redesigned version of which will launch in Australia in July with available hybrid power, but come with a higher price tag.
It’s unclear whether this new model will be offered in Australia.
The company is busily expanding its electric vehicle (EV) lineup in Australia, with the Cyberster roadster revealed last year to sit at the top.
A new version of the Marvel R crossover is also due and will be produced in right-hand drive, and MG says there’s a strong likelihood it will be brought here.
