MG announces facelift for the ZS EV

The British SAIC subsidiary MG Motor has given more details about its electric vehicle sales offensive in continental Europe, which was announced in March. The small electric SUV ZS EV will receive a detailed facelift in October, and the larger Marvel R will soon be available for order. An electric station wagon is to follow at the beginning of 2022.

++ This article has been updated. Kindly continue reading below. ++

From the end of October, the Marvel R Electric and a facelift of the ZS EV with a longer range will be available in the European MG Brand Stores. MG showed the Marvel R Electric in spring, now the prices are also known. The electric SUV will be available in Europe from 30,990 euros. The ‘Luxury’ version is priced at 43,990 euros, the ‘Performance’ version at 47,990 euros.

In the German market, the price is higher than the average European prices, starting at 42.990 euros for the ‘Comfort’ version, likely due to the calculated inclusion of a 3,000 euros environmental subsidy bonus.

The Marvel R Electric is to become the brand’s flagship. The electric SUV has a 70 kWh battery that can be charged with 11 kW AC and up to 92 kW DC. The vehicle will be offered with a 132 kW rear-wheel drive (with two e-motors) or a 212 kW all-wheel drive (with three e-motors). The rear-wheel-drive model covers 402 kilometres according to WLTP, the all-wheel-drive model up to 370 kilometres.

The B-segment SUV ZS EV, of which MG Motor has sold around 15,000 units in Europe so far, is getting a comprehensive facelift less than two years after the relaunch of the MG brand under SAIC management – and in the process also new batteries.

The previous battery with 45 kWh is no longer offered, the standard battery in the facelift model comes with 50.3 kWh, which should provide a range of 320 kilometres according to WLTP. A ‘Long Range’ battery is available as an option, which, like in the Marvel R Electric, has an energy content of 70 kWh. According to the manufacturer, this increases the WLTP range to up to 440 kilometres. With the large battery, the ZS EV also comes with a three-phase 11 kW onboard charger ex works, MG does not give any details on the DC charging power in the announcement. The live stream said that a charge from 30 to 80 per cent should take around 30 minutes.

The look will also be adapted with the facelift: The combustion engine-like design with a black front grille has disappeared; in the style of a Hyundai Kona electric, the front is now closed and painted in body colour throughout. The charging port, previously hidden in the centre behind the MG logo, remains at the front, but is now placed to the side of the logo.

While the two SUV models should be available from the end of October, European boss Matt Lei announced another model for the first quarter of 2022: Then the MG5 Electric will also be offered in continental Europe. The electric estate is so far only available in the UK.

However, the rumour that the MG5 Electric will receive a facelift before it goes on sale in mainland Europe has also come true. As with the ZS EV, the combustion engine features have disappeared and the closed front looks much more modern – here the charging port is still centrally located. MG has not revealed much in the way of technical data on the electric estate, but the load space (probably with the rear seat backs folded down) is said to be just under 1,400 litres. The standard range battery with 51.1 kWh is said to allow 320 WLTP kilometres, the larger battery holds 61.1 kWh for 400 kilometres in the estate. More details are to be announced before the launch.

Update 13 October 2021

Less than a week after the initial announcement, the MG Marvel R Electric has gone on sale in the European MG brand stores. The all-electric SUV is available in Europe in the Comfort (from 39,990 euros) and Luxury (from 43,990 euros) variants with rear-wheel drive and the Performance (from 47,990 euros) variant with all-wheel drive.

Source: live stream, mgmotor.eu, mgmotor.eu (update)