Kia Soul EV rival to go on sale in September, and brand boss promises "value for money"

MG's first fully electric model, the ZS EV, has made its UK public debut at the 2019 London motor show. 

On display for interested punters to examine until 19 May, bosses claim the ZS EV has already had more than 800 'expressions of interest' from buyers, the most the brand has ever had. 

The Kia Soul EV rival was first revealed at the Guangzhou motor show in China last year, and will be sold alongside the existing petrol versions of the ZS.

While specifications have yet to be confirmed, the UK-bound ZS EV is expected to use the same front-mounted 148bhp electric motor as the model sold in China.

The car's lithium ion battery will reportedly be good for a 268-mile range on the old NEDC test cycle, and MG says it can achieve an 80% charge in as little as 30 minutes.

As a guide, the WLTP range of the Nissan Leaf is 28.5% lower than its NEDC range, and the same reduction would put the ZS EV at 192 miles.

“We’re delighted to be entering the electric car market at such an exciting time," said Daniel Gregorious, MG's head of sales and marketing. "With MG’s trademark value-for-money approach, we’re confident that we can help more and more new car buyers to go electric.”

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UK sales weren't confirmed at the ZS EV's global debut last year, but they were considered likely as part of the slow but steady growth of the MG brand worldwide and its transition to being a maker of SUVs. 

MG is enjoying sales success in China, under the ownership of SAIC. Last year, it sold 134,786 cars, a significant increase over the 80,389 sold in 2016. That success accelerated in 2018; MG had already surpassed its 2017 total by the end of August, having sold 179,109 cars. 

China is the world’s largest market for electric cars, and ranges in excess of 250 miles are now the norm there, rather than the exception.

The ZS EV first made its debut alongside the new HS SUV, which is understood to be lined up to replace the GS in MG’s UK range later this year. 

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Comments
25

16 November 2018

 Oh this would be great, a Car that apparently can do a guaranteed 250miles between charges!

Peter Cavellini.

6 March 2019

I would actually like MG if they wernt so Chinese. There is nothing British about them, despite what they like to claim.

JMax

13 March 2019

Well, they do have an engineering and design facility based at Longbridge employing around 275 designers and engineers either as employees or contractors. The MG3 for example was designed and engineered there under the leadership of British designer Tony Williams-Kenny.

And in 2018 they opened a second design studio in London employing a further 25 designers headed by Carl Gotham.

 

12 May 2019
Hornblower wrote:

Well, they do have an engineering and design facility based at Longbridge employing around 275 designers and engineers either as employees or contractors. The MG3 for example was designed and engineered there under the leadership of British designer Tony Williams-Kenny.

And in 2018 they opened a second design studio in London employing a further 25 designers headed by Carl Gotham.

 

In other news, they are looking to close the one at Longbridge with the loss of all those jobs.. 

16 November 2018

The market of electric vehicles is growing in China, as the sales of overseas imported fashions and China-made cars take gain of the country support towards the increase of charging stations across the country and for decreased customs duties. UK Assignment Writer

16 November 2018

Why are EV manufacturers still quoting range figures measured by the now obsolete NEDC test cycle? 268 miles probably corresponds to 200 odd miles by the new WLTP test, so perhaps less than 200 miles in the real world.

It would in fact be more useful to know the rated kWh battery capacity and the vehicle weight, then we'd have a better idea of how far it would go...   

16 November 2018
Yes AGREE absolutely.. its ridiculous that Autocar are even quoting the NEDC figure... plus then going on to call it a long range car. Really anything with a useable range under 200 miles can only really be classified as mid range these days.
Yo

FMS

16 November 2018
Tappers wrote:

Yes AGREE absolutely.. its ridiculous that Autocar are even quoting the NEDC figure... plus then going on to call it a long range car. Really anything with a useable range under 200 miles can only really be classified as mid range these days.

 

Any sensible buyers are NOT interested in what name is used to describe the rnage or lack thereof...they want to know if it will suit their lifestyle and if they do 80-100 miles per week, what indeed does it matter if that is called "short" range?.

17 November 2018
FMS wrote:

Any sensible buyers are NOT interested in what name is used to describe the rnage or lack thereof...they want to know if it will suit their lifestyle and if they do 80-100 miles per week, what indeed does it matter if that is called "short" range?.

The thing is, no two people will get the same range. If you've got a heavy foot, you'll go less far. If you do most of your driving away from motorways or stop/start traffic, you'll go further. If you live somewhere warmer, you'll go further. Personally, I'm only driving a hybrid but I've gotten 20% more range since moving from Hertfordshire to Wiltshire.

What you actually need is a consistent baseline, and that's something that NEDC does well. I can always expect that my real-world range will be about 75% of that figure.

WLTP I'm not sure about yet. It initially seemed to be very inconsistent because the Ampera-E's figure is easily achievable but the I-Pace's is near-impossible. But over the last few months, they seem to have settled around 12-14% less than NEDC.

16 November 2018
LP in Brighton wrote:

Why are EV manufacturers still quoting range figures measured by the now obsolete NEDC test cycle?

The NEDC is still the official test cycle in China.  They're not going to test a European cycle (OK, I know it is meant to be global but the US will never take it and China might not) for a car that isn't confirmed for a European launch.

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