Iconic British brand MG, now owned by Chinese SAIC, is looking to follow up the success of its MG ZS EV with another all-electric vehicle, the MG 5. This will be the first estate car EV on the UK market.
The car will be equipped with a 52.5kWh battery pack which will provide a decent WLTP-certified combined range of 214 miles. The EV can be charged to 80% capacity from empty in 50 minutes. Official performance figures also show that the 5 can accelerate from zero to 62mph in 7.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 115mph.
The 5 is not an original project as it is an updated and rebranded version of the Chinese-market Roewe Ei5. However, it will have more power and more torque than its Asian sister, with an output of 156 bhp and 192lb ft respectively.
According to company sources, the MG will go on sale from £23,995, after application of the government's plug-in vehicle grant, and be available in two trim levels: Excite and Exclusive.
The 5 is expected to be 4.54m long, just under 1.82m wide and 1.54m tall. The size and the shape of the car is strikingly similar to an Italian bestseller the Fiat Tipo station wagon.
Following the recent reopening of UK dealerships, MG remains on track to begin deliveries of the 5 to customers in the fourth quarter of 2020 and is inviting prospective customers to register their interest now.
Daniel Gregorious, the MG’s sales and marketing boss is ready for the new all-electric future of the brand.
“It’s exciting because it’ll be our first model that’s truly unique in the market,” he said. “We expect success, but it’ll be fascinating to see how it plays with fleet and business customers.”
Depending on the sales numbers of this model, MG’s next move will be to launch a production version of the outstanding E-motion, which was unveiled as a concept at the Shanghai motor show in 2017. It’s a twin-motor, all-electric design with 3.0sec 0-60mph acceleration and is intended to be a serious rival of Porsche and Jaguar.