Autocar January 26, 2022

IS THERE A car brand in the UK right now going about its business more impressively than MG? It’s 11 years since the storied marque relaunched under Chinese ownership here with the 6, and for most of that time it has felt like a bit-part player. Then the electric car era started and MG now finds itself making the right products at the right time for the right price and – crucially in the current market – able to quickly fulfil orders to keep up with rising demand for EVs. In 2021, it was the UK’s fastest-growing mainstream brand, with sales up more than 60%. MG added over 40 new dealers, with plenty more planned. For inspiration on where it goes next, MG need only look at Kia and Hyundai, brands that felt…

MG is looking to significantly expand its product portfolio as the marque approaches its centenary in 2024, with the aim of attracting new buyers in new segments and continuing on its steep growth trajectory. In the 16 years since being acquired by the Chinese state-owned SAIC, MG has established itself as a leading maker of value-oriented yet well-equipped and safe family cars, selling more than 52,000 across Europe in 2021 – far more than half of which were in the UK, its spiritual home. It plans to triple that figure in 2022 on its way to reaching one million sales across 100 global markets by 2024. Crucial to this goal will be the introduction of new cars. The 5 SW EV estate and ZS EV crossover are already among the most popular electric…

With a future product strategy guided in part by an awareness of its past and a keen desire to attract younger buyers, MG looks set to emulate the success BMW achieved 22 years ago in reviving the Mini brand. Mini, which like MG was once part of the ill-fated Rover Group, is now again a strong-selling global brand with a comprehensive and well-received product line-up and bold ambitions for an all-electric future. It’s hard not to draw parallels between the two brands on the basis of their shared histories and trajectories alone, but also because they seem aware that their Britishness – however intangible that might seem, now that one is German-owned and the other Chinese – remains a selling point. That the Cyberster’s tail-lights are modelled on the Union Jack, like those…

MG’S PUSH TO establish itself in new markets will extend to the introduction of an electric hatchback to challenge seasoned segment leaders such as the Renault Zoe and newcomers like the Ora Cat from SAIC’s Chinese rival Great Wall Motors. It is due to be launched before the Cyberster and is already undergoing testing in production bodywork. Autocar understands that it will be presented in concept form at the Beijing motor show in April before a full launch later this year. Right-hand-drive cars are due in the UK in 2023. Chinese media reports have suggested the new hatchback could replace the second-generation 3 supermini, which has been in production at MG’s plant in Nanjing, China, since 2011, and will offer the choice of both petrol and electric drivetrains, like the ZS crossover. The new hatch’s…

Mercedes-Benz’s EQ electric car family will soon grow once again with the launches of the EQS SUV and EQE SUV, the third and fourth models to be based on the German car maker’s EV-dedicated EVA platform. Confirmed by Mercedes boss Ola Källenius in 2020, the EQS SUV is expected to cost from around £90,000 in the UK, while the smaller EQE SUV will sit closer to the £75,000 mark when sales begin later this year. Eventually, the EQS SUV will provide the basis for a more potent and yet more lavishly appointed Maybach, as previewed by a concept at the 2021 Munich motor show. The technically similar EQS SUV and EQE SUV are being developed together in a joint engineering programme that aims to get them launched within six months of each other. They…

LEE NOBLE, THE designer and engineer who founded sports car manufacturer Noble, is making a bold return to the low-volume industry with a production version of the lightweight, 500bhp-plus track-focused test mule he demonstrated five years ago. Named the Exile (as is Noble’s new business), the road-legal mid-engined two-seat coupé combines a motorsport-bred chassis with supercar-quick acceleration. Now powered by a 504bhp twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre Ford Ecoboost V6 (replacing the mule’s Cadillac V6), the Exile should accelerate from 0-60mph in 3.5sec and on to a top speed of 165mph, according to its maker. “The only changes we’ve made have been a dry sump for better track performance and bespoke mapping of the ECU,” said Noble. “Durability and simplicity were key here – and making it pretty quick, too.” Drive is delivered to the Exile’s rear…