MG4 51kWh Excite $39,975 (Launch Price) + ORC after $7015 Rebate @ MG Motor

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scott on 20/06/2023 - 21:37 mgmotor.co.nz (1128 clicks)
Last edited 20/06/2023 - 21:45 by 1 other user

MG has today announced that they are bringing the 51kWh Excite version of its MG4 model to New Zealand, and confirmed the launch pricing.

$46,990 +ORC, less the $7015 EV rebate.

This is notable because it becomes the cheapest new pure EV available in NZ. $3000 cheaper than the previous cheapest, the $49,990 MG ZS EV & GWM Ora.

And it has impressive specs to boot. The car is about the size of a corolla hatchback. Notable specs for the 51kWh:

• RWD
• 125kW
• 7.7s 0-100km/h time
• 50:50 weight distribution
• 350km WLTP range
• LFP battery chemistry
• LED head and tail lights
• Vehicle to load (2.2kW)
• 448kg payload
• 500kg tow rating
• 10.6m turning Circle
• 117kW max DC charging speed (37min from 10% to 80% on a 150kW+ charger)
• 7 year, unlimited km warranty (non commercial)

(some of the specs are from the euro version of the same car as MG is yet to release a full spec sheet on their website).

I suggest that this offering is going to shake up the lower end of the New EV market substantially. Offerings like the entry GWM Ora, entry BYD Dolphin, entry Nissan leaf, and entry Hyundai Ioniq are both more expensive and offer weaker specifications than the MG4 51kWh Excite. This MG4 is an epic deal in comparison.

Deliveries are expected in the third quarter of 2023.

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mgmotor.co.nz

• 

  jackvdbuk on 20/06/2023 - 21:46

  Are mg known for thier reliability? Was under possibly an old impression they are not to reliable compared to the asian market cars?

  Honestly interested in a hybrid or electric car atm but so hard to choose!

  Also this seems like a fantastic deal, costs 25k plus for this model in the uk!

  Hotukdeals comments here: https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/mg-mg4-51kwh-se-auto-5dr-ps…

  • 

    Moodkiller on 20/06/2023 - 22:02

    Currently, the MG Motors is owned by the SAIC Motor Corporation Limited which is a Chinese state-owned manufacturing company.

    Technically, it is from said Asian market cars area :), it was more that the enthusiasts were concerned when it got bought out by a Chinese company… that said, cars from China / Asia are doing well (Haval, BYD and the likes)

  • 

    RockCartel on 20/06/2023 - 22:07

    MG is an Asian market car company (made in China, Thailand, and India), and owned by Chinese state automaker SAIC

  • 

    Jaxson on 20/06/2023 - 22:13

    100% Asian car manufacturer with a seven year warranty.

    They bought the rights to the name and badge.

    Same as how dick smith is now just Kogan rebadged.

  • 

    scott on 20/06/2023 - 22:43

    +2

    As others have noted, MG is owned by SAIC, the biggest Chinese automaker.

    MG (under MG Rover) went into receivership in 2005, and SAIC brought the brand.

    In terms of quality, based on a family members (pre face lift) MG ZS EV, don't expect Japanese build quality. But if you don't mind the bonnet sitting 5mm above the side pannel's, it's fine….

    in terms of reliability, you have the most durable battery chemistry, and a 7 year, unlimited km warrenty.

    Yes, This car is an amazing deal, but still, a few people are upset it has been priced cheaper in Australia.

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  NS on 20/06/2023 - 22:03

  Not a bad deal. That weight distribution and rwd might actually make it ok. Certainly better than a late model second hand leaf import. Bonus that it does look fugly like some others

  • 

    Alan6984 on 20/06/2023 - 22:09

    Why would RWD be an advantage?

    On the face of it, that seems to be a disadvantage to me, but I am no petrol-head :-)

    • 

      Jaxson on 20/06/2023 - 22:14

      +1

      Personal preference but I love the handling characteristics of rwd cars much more than the common fwd of today.

      • 

        Alan6984 on 20/06/2023 - 22:20

        Fair enough - It just seemed like something that was common in the seventies and then went away for some reason, so I had guessed it was less optimal.

        • 

          scott on 20/06/2023 - 23:04

          +1

          @Alan6984: Mostly because automakers worked out that transverse engine FWD cars were cheaper to build.

          With the exception of hot hatches, the bulk of performance cars remain RWD (or AWD) to this day.

    • 

      Elrops on 20/06/2023 - 22:55

      +1

      EVs have max torque available from standstill. A FWD car loses weight from its drive wheels during acceleration. A RWD car will get more weight added to its drive wheels on high acceleration, meaning better grip for the high torque.
      Most cheap EVs up until recently have been FWD and have been very prone to wheelspin.

    • 

      scott on 20/06/2023 - 22:59

      +3

      RWD is widely seen as better than FWD by car enthusiasts:

      • Under acceleration, the weight shifts to the rear of the vehicle, loading the rear tires more, and the front tires less, meaning a RWD will have more grip and be better avoid wheelspin under hard acceleration.
      • No torque steer - Powerful FWD cars will tug the steering to the side under hard acceleration, RWD car's don't do this.
      • more even tire wear (having the rear tires doing acceleration, and the front doing the bulk of turning and breaking, vs FWD where the front does most of the work).
      • Often allows for a smaller turning circle as there is no drive connection to the front wheels

      Main advantage of FWD is it is cheap to build in a front engine car. Avoids the need to fit a driveshaft to the rear, and means the diff etc can be integrated with the gearbox. RWD EV's avoid this by having the motor in the rear.

      Also eliminating the drive shaft and rear diff etc, gives the automakers more flexibility to have a bigger boot etc.

      One reason that FWD cars are preferred by some over RWD is that in a petrol / diesel car with the engine at the front, the weight balance (while empty) is really bias towards the front, meaning in low traction conditions (i.e. snow), the FWD car will have more grip than a RWD car. Setting the car up with 50:50 weight balance mitigates this.

    • 

      ace310 on 20/06/2023 - 23:48

      Weight distribution is much better in EV's as battery is in the floor. Whereas petrol/diesel cars mostly in front. So RWD makes sense.

  • 

    Everettpsycho on 20/06/2023 - 22:43

    +1

    The later model leafs are plunging in price already with 40kWh models at the low 20k price range, and this might further that. It's still a big price gao though with one of these costing double the leaf, this is a lot better as a vehicle but I still can't justify double the price.

    We are considering swapping our 30kWh leafs for 40kWh ones to make the most of the 1% green home loan top up which would bring the overall cost to us down to almost nothing to upgrade.

    • 

      scott on 20/06/2023 - 23:39

      +6

      Thie 51kWh MG4 would be a better competitor for a used Leaf e+ (62kWh nominal / 59kWh useable)

      MG4 51kWh is 350km WLTP rated range, Leaf e+ is 385km rated range when new, but if we brought a used car with a 90% health pack, would need to derate that to 346km.

      Advantage used Leaf e+:
      - Japanese build quality
      - Slightly cheaper ($40.5k less $3450 rebate for a 2019)
      - High spec level available: Bose audio, 360 degree camera, leather seats, heated seats etc.
      - Much more powerful (160kW vs 125kW)
      - Long proven, reliable car model.
      - Better boot space (420L vs 363L)

      Advantage MG4 51kWh Excite
      - Brand new car, new car smell, pick your color etc.
      - 7 year unlimited kM warrenty
      - RWD
      - Newer, more intersting
      - Has CCS2 fast charge port (leaf has CHAdeMO). Some newer charge stations like Z walkworth are dramatically favoring CCS2 with 3 bays, vs a single CHAdeMO bay.
      - Much faster fast charging. While the leaf e+ can handle more, most CHAdeMO cords in NZ max out at 50kW, meaning 59 mins to charge from 10% - 80%. Where the MG4 can do the same in 37mins on a 150kW+ charger (should note if only a 50kW charger is available, the MG4 does worse at 64mins)
      - Vehicle to Load
      - slightly tighter turning (10.6 vs 10.8m)
      - Tow rating (500kg vs 0 kg)
      - No rapid gate (40kWh & 62kWh leaf's DC charging speed drops a heap once you get past your second big fast charge of the trip).
      - LFP battery (Charge to 100% every day, and minimal degradation expected. Battery should way outlast the rest of the car).

      Which is better really comes down to the use case. Vehicle to load & better DC fast charging abilities would appeal to some buyers, where greater boot space & higher end specs may appeal to others.

      That said given the spec are in the same ballpark, I think most buyers would take the new car with a 7 year warranty, over a 4 year old used import, and in that light, suspect that there will be a lot of downwards pressure on the asking prices of leaf e+'s over the rest of the year.

      • 

        desikiwi on 21/06/2023 - 08:20

        Nissan though made in Japan there quality is not good as Toyota Mitsubishi subaru mazda some models only Honda some models only Nissan leaf is not a good car but it's a cheap car and reasonable reliable but battery does not have active thermal management.

        Chinese EVs have better battery management and haveactive thermals some are the best like byd blade or catls lithium phosphate

        • 

          scott on 21/06/2023 - 22:36

          @desikiwi: Have a leaf. Generally the build quality is very good. Panel gaps very constant etc. Definitely better than a family members MG ZS EV.

          Yes the leaf has obviously been built to be cheap, with the obvious omission of active battery cooling. And the LFP battery in this MG will far outlast the uncooled NMC battery in the leaf (that said, the batteries in the 40 & 62kWh leaf's seem to be a big improvement over the 24kWh & 30kWh)

      • 

        kinetic9 on 21/06/2023 - 09:02

        Thanks for this, we’ve been considering a leaf, but are now thinking to wait for the MG4. The no active cooling of the battery and subsequent degradation is a big sticking point for us. Also having better fast charging a big plus.

        Unless there’s a big price drop on the leafs. We’re still seeing dealers in our area charging 25-30k for 40kWh leafs before rebate and many under 90% SOH

        • 

          scott on 21/06/2023 - 22:54

          @kinetic9: This should be putting a lot of downwards pressure on leaf pricing.

          Comparing the 40kWh Leaf with the 51kWh MG4, the MG4 wins in most area's.

          More range, Better fast charging, more battery degradation resistant battery, more powerful motor, RWD, 500kg tow rating (vs zero) etc. Strongly preferable if you are going to be doing long trips.

          That said, the cheapest 40kWh leaf on trade-me (a 2018 in Dunedin with 85% health), comes in under $20k after rebate, so you are paying roughly double for the MG4…

          But yeah, if you want a nicer 40kWh leaf with Leather seat's, Bose audio etc, you are spending in the $25 - $30k band.

          If you don't need the extra boot space of the leaf, and are not in a hurry, it sure would be tempting to spend the extra money on the MG4. Although the leaf has proven quite reliable, having a 7 year, unlimited km warranty is quite attractive in it's own right…

          • 

            Alan6984 on 21/06/2023 - 22:59

            @scott: Do you know - Is the seven year warranty underwritten by, say, an insurance company in NZ?

            • 

              scott on 22/06/2023 - 14:16

              @Alan6984: I don't think the warrenty is underwritten, but it wouldn't concern me. Ultimate parent company is SAIC, which is of the worlds larger automakers.

          • 

            desikiwi on 22/06/2023 - 04:39

            @scott: Leaf will need an expensive 🫰 battery change life of the batteries is not good , once the batteries start deteriorating its accelerated not sure why it's just how it is .

            You can buy a cheap Japan leaf for about 6k if you import it your self with 3 k rebate and then you need to be ready in the future to change the battery for say 20 k blade byd for leaf in Christchurch , still cheaper then new car but you need to do complex change in insurance value and sale is also not easy ..

            I will wait for byd sodium batteries in there entry level car that should be. Lot cheaper

            • 

              scott on 22/06/2023 - 22:22

              +1

              @desikiwi: I doubt battery swaps will be viable.

              My 2014 is at about 75% health (in the bottom 5 percentile for the year, was priced in when I brought the car), and generally, the 24kWh leaf run reliably until they drop below 50% (when cell failures become more likely). Age is one of the biggest factors in degradation, so I figure about another 9 years before the car will be ready for scrapping.

              Note that there was a battery chemistry change in late 2013. 2011 - 2013 Leaf's suffer by far the worst degradation.

              So far the 40kWh packs seem to be holding up really well. the 2017 cars are now six years old, and the median health is around 88%, so degradation is only about 2 percentage points a year, which is much better than the leaf's of old.

              On BYD, after their NZ pricing of the dolphin came out ($5 - $10k more than expected), I would be cautious about waiting for their products.

          • 

            kinetic9 on 22/06/2023 - 07:30

            +1

            @scott: That’s what we’re hoping for now. We’re also now considering just waiting and seeing how prices are affected in the second hand market. Potentially if we can get a better Leaf or similar around 20k or under and spending the rest on getting solar panels for the house, equivalent to the price of the MG4.

            It would be our first EV and we weren’t intending on buying new, however the 25-30k range is really depressing, the only options seemingly the leaf or first gen Ioniq’s

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  NoMorePain on 21/06/2023 - 10:59

  This car sells like hot cake in UK, massive positive review from youtuber in UK