“We need to start giving people more accessible cars at the price they feel comfortable affording, and that’s what this industry is really, really good at,” Allison said.
It’s likely to be a bespoke product, designed and engineered primarily to suit the European market, as MG parent company SAIC doesn’t currently sell any small urban EVs in China that MG has deemed appropriate for export to Europe. It would, however, be built in China.
MG wouldn’t, for example, seek to import its Indian-market Comet city car – which is based on the Wuling Air EV – to the UK, and nor is sibling brand Roewe’s Clever hatchback under consideration.
Nonetheless, there is potential for this new MG to be sold worldwide, with Allison highlighting that SAIC’s European design centre in London works on a whole range of cars that aren’t sold in Europe and the UK is the brand’s best-selling market globally, which gives the UK division a lot of influence over SAIC’s global operations.
“It’s the spiritual home of the brand; we’re seen as being quite pivotal, quite important,” said Allison.
Notably, he added, MG’s UK engineering centre in Longbridge – on the site of the old MG Rover factory – still plays a significant role in refining MG’s global products for the European market, having tested prototypes of the new Cyberster sports car and 3 supermini for several months in the UK ahead of launch. It would play a similar role in refining a new EV supermini for European dealerships.