MG3 replacement is planned – but not a full EV

At the recent launch of the facelifted MG5 EV, we caught up with MG Motor UK’s Commercial Director (and MG veteran) Guy Pigounakis. One obvious question we had was where the new MG4 and MG5 left the existing entry-level MG3, which remains a petrol-only model in all the markets where it remains on sale. At a very low retail price, starting at around £13,000, the MG3 is an attractive first car for many new drivers although clearly its longer-term future – on an already ageing model platform – must be doubtful.

The key challenge for any small car is the price of the battery, and with the MG4 introducing MG’s new platform and bespoke low-profile battery, the chances of adapting a smaller model to fit this platform, at the same time as cutting the showroom price-point, seems slim; certainly a £13k retail price for an EV seems almost unattainable. Although no precise details were forthcoming, the likelihood, we were told, would be a petrol-electric hybrid that could better bridge the price gap. We somewhat doubt that the MG Air, described earlier, will form any part of MG’s European sales plan, but stranger things have happened.

What we do know is that by 2025, within the European MG range on sale by then, only the MG4 will survive in its current form, as the whole of the MG UK and Europe ranges (now under shared management, following a recent international restructure) will be new. That is likely to cover models such as the replacement ZS, the HS facelift, the next generation Marvel-R and of course the new MG sports car derived from the Cyberster, further details of which are believed to be imminent.

The MG3 has proved to be a consistently popular first car for many new drivers; a replacement is planned but may not be a full EV because of costs.