MG’s most affordable EV, the MG4, has officially gone on sale today, with the brand also hinting that a performance “hot hatch” variant is also on the way later in 2023.
The MG4 which is designed on the company’s new Modular Scalable Platform (MSP) with 50:50 weight distribution and a rear-wheel-drive powertrain, initially comes in four variants with WLTP range and pricing at:
- Excite 51 kWh (350 km)- $38,990 plus on-roads
- Excite 64 kWh (450 km) – $44,990 plus on-roads
- Essence 64 kWh (435 km) – $47,990 plus on-roads
- Essence 77 kWh (530 km) – $55,990 plus on-roads
It has already received a warm reception from the market, with orders of more than 1,000 and hopes to deliver 3,000 by the end of the year, confirming the great interest at lower priced EVs. The MG4 is one of three EVs priced at under $40,000 (before on roads), including the BYD Dolphin and the GWM Ora.
“The MG4 is a new standard for electric vehicles in Australia,” MG Motor Australia and New Zealand CEO Peter Ciao said. “MG has brought together a brilliant mix of affordability, range and quality for Australian drivers.
“Our MG4 is backed with a 7-year warranty and has received a five-star ANCAP safety rating, ahead of local deliveries beginning this month. We’re excited for private, fleet and rideshare drivers who’ll benefit from this!”
The launch in Australia comes after a very successful launch in the UK, where the MG4 was warmly greeted and received multiple awards, including for its practicality and dynamic handling.
Speaking of the features, the MG4 is equipped with:
- Features of the MG4 range include:
- 5 Driving Modes (Eco, Normal, Sport, Snow, Custom)
- 4 Regenerative Braking Modes(1,2,3,A)
- One Pedal Mode
- 10.25″ Multi-function colour touch screen Apple CarPlay & Android AUTO
- MG Pilot Driver Safety Technology
- Vehicle To Load Functionality (V2L)
- i-SMART connectivity
- Reverse Camera
- 17″ alloy wheels with two-tone aero covers
The MSP EV platform which the MG4 sits on has some unique features not found on many electric cars at this price point. These include:
- Rear-wheel-drive powertrain with three different power options: 125 kW, 150 kW and 180 kW
- Good weight distribution allowing for a more planted feel on the road
- Thinner battery modules with a pack height of 110 mm which is shorter in height than a coke can which comes in 123 mm
On the charging front, the 64 kWh battery packs can be fast charged up to 140 kW of charging speeds. According to MG, this allows the car to charge from 10% – 80% in 26 minutes with fairly flat peak charging speeds achieved for the majority of the charge.
The MG4 comes with a 7-year unlimited km warranty and has a network of over 90 dealers nationally that will be able to service all MG products, including this new ground-up electric hatch.
At the launch event for the MG4, the brand’s leadership also hinted at a surprise fifth performance-orientated variant that may also be on the way. It’s likely to offer a sub-4 seconds, 0-100 km/h, thanks to a 320 kW AWD powertrain, and could be here by the end of 2023.
MG Motor Australia and New Zealand, Sales Director, Kim Nguyen, said more information on the X-Power variant will be revealed in coming weeks.
“I know that there have been strong interest in the X-Power and I am excited to announce that this vehicle will be bought in Australia by the end of the year,” he said. “It will follow a pure hot hatch sports cars doctrine. But that is all yet to come.”
This is very exciting news for many fans of the hot hatches in Australia as it would be the first electric hot hatch in the market.
MG4 has been one of the most highly anticipated electric cars to hit Australia in 2023 and Nguyen confirmed this week that it’s taken 1,000 pre-orders, with hopes of delivering 3,000 by the end of the year.
“This [car] is a game changer, particularly with the stock that’s on the way,” he said. “We are confident that we can help over 3,000 plus customers get behind the wheel of an MG4 before the end of the year.”
With the brand promising to deliver thousands more EVs before the end of the year, the new MG4 will surely be part of that mix. The popularity of the new model is bound to bring many new drivers who will ditch ICE vehicles for cleaner EVs and never look back.
See our first drive review of the MG4. MG4 First Drive: The first affordable, sporty EV hits Australian roads
MG4 Variant Specs Table
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.