MG is planning an electric estate MG4 and a small EV

The SAIC brand MG Motor is planning an estate offshoot of its electric compact model MG4, which is to replace the ageing existing MG5 estate. And a small electric car called MG2 is apparently also in the pipeline.

According to information from Autocar, the estate version of the MG4 is due to be launched on the UK market later this year. The MG5 Electric – our driving report here – is also offered in China under the SAIC brand Roewe in various body versions.

For its part, the Roewe i5 is based on the Buick Excelle GT via the SAIC-GM joint venture, which is a combustion engine platform from General Motors. The Roewe model has been on the Chinese market since 2017, while the Buick has been on the market since 2015.

As SAIC now has its own BEV base with the platform of the all-electric MG4 called MSP (Modular Scalable Platform), it is not only logical to replace the ageing MG5, but also to change the platform. Not only Autocar assumes that an MG4 estate is likely to be the more cost-effective choice than a completely new model. It is still unclear whether the model will continue to be called the MG5 or the MG4 estate. What is clear, however, is that SAIC will bring out the new model in this form: The estate will have rear-wheel drive instead of front-wheel drive.

Depending on the battery, the drive (at least in the MG4) will deliver between 125 and 180 kW in the rear-wheel drive models. There is an LFP battery with 51 kWh, an NMC battery with 64 kWh and the Long Range model (also with NMC chemistry) with 77 kWh. This means that the five-door model can cover between 350 and 520 kilometres according to WLTP, while the estate is likely to fall slightly short of these figures. It is unclear whether the 320 kW all-wheel drive MG4 XPower will also make it into the estate.

However, there could soon be another model from the brand below the MG4. MG Motor is also planning a small electric car for around 20,000 euros for 2025, which could be called the MG2, writes Autocar in another article. The magazine cites a statement by David Allison, Head of Product Planning at MG Motor UK.

MG presented the MG3 small hybrid car at the Geneva Motor Show. On the sidelines of the premiere, Allison said: “But I think there’s a huge opportunity for someone who can get to the four-metre EV for around €20,000 [£17,000]. I think someone can do that with an acceptable range, decent-sized car about that price, and I think that person will clean up with it. And why not us?” She added: “It would be great if we could get something like that in the market by the end of next year. It’s still a couple of years away, to be perfectly honest. But I don’t think it’s inconceivable.”

Details apart from the length of just under four metres and the target price of 20,000 euros are not yet known. With such a model, MG would be targeting vehicles such as the Dacia Spring, the recently launched Renault 5, the Stellantis models centred around the Citroen e-C3 or the upcoming VW ID.2.

autocar.co.uk (MG4), autocar.co.uk (compact car)