China-owned MG plans UK electric car expansion

CARMAKER MG is planning to expand electric car sales in the UK, seeing “a significant opportunity” in the country after buyers snapped up its cars last year. The brand, which is controlled by the Chinese state, said the time had come to capitalise on what is now a “very strong electric vehicle offering”.

Sales last year rose by more than half to £452m. The result for MG is the latest indicator of Chinese carmakers stepping in as Western manufacturers struggle to keep up with car demand.

The new £25,995 MG 4 SE with 218 miles of range is probably the cheapest electric vehicle on offer in the UK and can be compared to the similarly sized Volkswagen ID.3 at £36,195 and the Kia Niro EV at £36,245.

MG is ramping up at the same time as other brands based in China prepare their entry into the UK, including BYD and Ora, which are both expected in UK showrooms before the end of the year.

UK car sales remain sluggish, well below pre-pandemic levels, not because of a lack of demand, but because of component shortages and some makers abandoning the cheaper end of the car market. MG’s expansion plans come despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last month saying the “golden era” of Anglo-Chinese relations was over.

MG said it added 33 dealers to its network to make 153, and cut back on smaller, loss-making showrooms. Profits rose to £4.3m from £2.8m.

The firm was formed as a sideline of Morris Garages, modifying Morris Oxford cars in the 1920s. As with many British motoring brands, it changed hands a number of times, ultimately becoming part of British Leyland and then Rover Group. When Rover went under, the MG brand was bought by Nanjing Automobile Group in 2005 and Nanjing was purchased by state-owned SAIC two years later. Production moved to China and the first SAIC-owned MGs were sold in the UK from 2011.