Currently reading: New 2023 MG electric hatchback to rival Vauxhall Corsa-e
MG's new electric hatchback could replace ageing 3 supermini and appear as a concept in April

MG is set to unveil a new electric hatchback in the coming months – and UK sales of the five-door model are already being discussed, according to sources at parent company SAIC.

The MG 4 has since been revealed and has gone on sale. Read our review here.

Exposed in prototype form in a series of photos uploaded to Chinese social media channels (below) before patent filings gave strong clues to the final design, the new hatchback is planned to join the recently facelifted ZS EV and 5 EV in a three-strong line-up of electric MG models in the UK. The new MG Marvel-R, while confirmed for a European launch later this year, has not yet received approval for UK sales.

Although the project is shrouded in secrecy, Autocar understands MG is planning to preview the new model as a concept at the Beijing motor show in April before unveiling the definitive production model during the second half of the year.

Right-hand-drive UK deliveries of the new hatchback, which will rival the Vauxhall Corsa-e and Mini Electric, are slated for 2023.

 

 

Chinese media reports suggest the new hatchback could replace the second-generation MG 3, which has been in production at MG’s Nanjing plant in China since 2011, offering the choice of both electric and combustion drivetrains.

Among the styling details identifying the prototype as an MG is the middle section of the hatchback’s distinctive front bumper, which is shaped similarly to that of the Chinese-owned car maker’s recent Cyberster roadster concept.

The new model also features a prominent shoulder line reminiscent of that seen on the ZS. Other details are obscured by camouflage wrap covering the bodywork, though images from underneath show the battery and reveal the early testing mule uses an independent rear suspension.

The new MG is described as being shorter than the ZS, which extends to 4314mm in length.

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scrap 8 February 2022

It's generic future car! Coming to an insurance ad soon.

Marc 8 February 2022
I've heard the launch model is going to have a raised ride height and body cladding, and is called the Nepalese border incursion edition.
MaxTorque 11 January 2022
If only the general public realised MGs are 100% Chinese they'll think twice about buying them, even given their cheap price. They are about as British as the Spanish flu was Spanish in origin.
Besides, since MG is state-owned buying these cars directly enriches the CCP and look how well that's been panning out for all the countries in the region suffering under Chinese aggression and militarism.
Old But not yet Dead 8 February 2022

Or we could buy guilt free American owned products like , Ford or Stellantis and ignore the mess caused by US aggression in the middle East, or German makes and ignore the economic damage they have caused numerous European states with their EU dominance. Maybe we should buy a Jag or Land Rover as the Indians are so virtuous . Not to mention the Japanese, well that's a good choice as they have never caused any problems.

Best to stick to good old British makes like.......? , well I am sure there is one somewhere, because we have never created any issues anywhere have we.

Time to look at the big picture Max.

lambo58 8 February 2022

So, nothing like us brits which along with the USA has launched 269 wars and attempted regime changes since the second world was and are preparing another one in the Ukraine which will make 270. And those are just the ones we know about. Grow a brain you racist cretin

Marc 8 February 2022

Is it ground hog day?

MaxTorque 8 February 2022
Oh yes, the ol' 'rayceeest' refrain, where will we be without it?

Try repeating that line to the Uighurs, the Mongolians, the Tibetans who have all had their homeland militarily invaded and annexed by the Mao Communists, the Philippinos and the Vietnamese who have seen their maritime jurisdiction violated by the illegal CCP occupation of islands, the Koreans who had to endure one of the most destructive wars in history because the CCP illegally invaded the peninsula in support of a criminal Kim regime in November 1950, and the literally millions of the global populace who have died from a certain virus originating from Wuhan.

Anyone who tries to exonerate the crimes of the Chinese communists frankly needs to get their head examined. And this even despite the wrongs committed by the West in the past because in terms of the scale of harm caused, there really is no comparison.

I've observed that people who resort to cheap slogans and/or insults are usually the ones with the least capacity for rational thought and rigorous intellectual inquiry. You are certainly not an exception to that trend.

No lambo, the real cretin is you.

catnip 8 February 2022

Maybe the general public would also stop buying all those laptops, tablets, phones, cars with Chinese components, household appliances, etc, etc too.

Or maybe not.

Marc 8 February 2022

I know, here's me critising MG and the Chinese Gov and doing it all from a Chinese made OnePlus phone and regularly eating chinese takeaway. What a hypocrite hey!

Still, at least I have the freedom to do that, I could live in China! Or worse, their best mates in North Korea, probably can't even get a takeaway there, let alone have the basic freedom of taking the piss...

MaxTorque 8 February 2022
The Chinese don't make components, they merely assemble them (shoddily, mind) for the cheapest price. The core technologies are held by countries like US, Japan, Germany, S Korea, UK etc.
We can wean off from Chinese goods and we damn well ought to.
Back in the 90s and early noughties before cheap Chinese tat flooded the market you could actually buy quality products if you paid a little extra for them.

Nowadays everything is made in China and everything is of garbage quality.