300kW+ MG4 electric hot hatch confirmed for 2023

Report confirms MG’s supercar-fast Corolla-sized EV is coming, the brand will be all-electric by 2027 and the popular MG3 small car will be replaced within 18 months

Throw the words ‘electric car’ and ‘cheap’ into a headline and you’re guaranteed eyeballs and clicks. It’s ensured the new MG4 – launching in the UK this month and likely in Australia in Q1 2023 – is proving very newsworthy.

British media reports have been universally positive – many road test journalists giving the MG4 close to top marks. If the small EV can combine value with newfound polish it is set to further advance MG’s rapid penetration into market share.

MG4 2022-4 — This is the regular MG4, but ‘new MG’s’ first hot hatch will be based on this vehicle

While the hype machine is bubbling along nicely, the UK’s Auto Express reports a high-performance variant is due in about six months. The outlet’s interview with MG Commerical Director, Guy Pigounakis, revealed the new vehicle would be a “very high-performance, twin-motor derivative,” and Chinese specifications suggest this all-wheel-drive version could offer 330kW, 600Nm and hit 100km/h in 3.8 seconds.

Pigounakis said this rapid model would help change people’s perception of MG. “I’d like to see the brand transitioning more towards a sporty image,” he said. “We have very sensible cars today. That’s about to change into sensible and fun cars.”

MG4’s Australian plans

The normal, single-motor rear-drive MG4 hasn’t yet been confirmed for Australia, but it’s highly likely to arrive here next year. Priced from £25,995 (AU$44,200) or £28,495 (AU$48,500) for the Long Range, should the car launch in Australia at under $50,000 it’d be amongst our cheapest EVs, and a rival to the BYD Atto 3.

MG4 2022-5 — The MG4 is about the same size as a Toyota Corolla, so an electric GR Corolla rival could be on the way

The MG4 is built on the Modular Scalable Platform (MSP) developed by MG’s Chinese parent company SAIC. It features a 125kW motor with 51kWh battery pack or 150kW motor with 64kWh battery pack. Range is quoted at 350km and 450km (WLTP) respectively, and 150kW charging capability allows the 64kWh battery to go from 10-80 per cent charge in 35 minutes.

Full electric future

Auto Express’s interview also saw Pigounakis reveal MG’s UK line-up would be “refreshed or replaced by the end of 2024, while the brand is set to be electric-only by 2027.” This would suggest MG’s petrol and plug-in hybrids would be dropped by that date, in the UK at least.

He also said the MG3 hatch – Australia’s most popular light/city car by some margin – would be replaced after being on sale for another 12-18 months, but its successor would use a different name.

It sounds like MG will replace or refresh its entire range by 2024, which could spell the end for the MG3

Back to sexing up the MG image, the electric Cyberster roadster was confirmed by Pigounakis as being in showrooms in “early 2024” and that it was “a sports car that’s outstanding and staggeringly good value for money.” Auto Express hinted it would adopt the MGC EV name (recently trademarked by the brand), rather than use Cyberster.

MG has expanded rapidly in Australia in recent years, and with right-hand-drive UK having or expecting these new MGs, we can expect most to ultimately land here, too.

Australian MG sales are up 17 per cent compared to this time last year – on top of 2021’s expansion of a whopping 156 per cent. The MG ZS EV was second only to the Tesla Model 3 in 2021’s electric car sales.