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2024 MG4 and MG ZS EV are Australia's two cheapest new electric cars! Chinese brand introduces drive-away pricing and undercuts BYD Dolphin and GWM Ora

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The MG4 kicks off at $39,990 drive-away and tops out at $59,990.
The MG4 kicks off at $39,990 drive-away and tops out at $59,990.
Tim Nicholson
Managing Editor
21 Mar 2024
3 min read

The battle for Australia’s cheapest EV just added another chapter with MG announcing permanent drive-away pricing for all of its battery-electric models.

That means the MG4 51kWh Excite becomes the most affordable EV on the market right now at $39,990 drive-away. This is the same pricing as before, but up to now you’d also have to pay on-road costs that can add thousands to the final price of a car.

MG actually has the two cheapest EVs on the market, because the base-model MG ZS EV Excite is also now $39,990 drive-away.

MG Motor Australia has confirmed with CarsGuide that the EV drive-away pricing is ongoing for the foreseeable future, including model year 2024 versions of the MG4.

There was a three-way battle for the title of Australia’s cheapest EV towards the end of 2023 that saw MG facing off with fellow Chinese offerings, the BYD Dolphin and GWM Ora.

The BYD Dolphin held the title with a $38,890 pricetag, just edging out the GWM Ora by $1100 with its $39,990 sticker price. But these figures were, and remain, before on-road costs, so that would see them exceed $40,000 when you include those costs.

At the moment GWM has a retail drive-away offer on the entry-grade MY23 Ora Standard Range for $38,415 - but this is not the ongoing price of the model.

MG Motor is pitching this move as helping Australians navigate cost-of-living pressures, and it comes on the back of the Chinese carmaker’s support of the Federal Government’s proposed New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).
MG Motor is pitching this move as helping Australians navigate cost-of-living pressures, and it comes on the back of the Chinese carmaker’s support of the Federal Government’s proposed New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).

MG Motor is pitching this move as helping Australians navigate cost-of-living pressures, and it comes on the back of the Chinese carmaker’s support of the Federal Government’s proposed New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).

“We are serious about our commitment to support the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard and once again, MG is putting customers first by ensuring everyone can access a wide range of affordable zero emission vehicles thanks to reduced nationwide drive-away pricing on the entire MG4 range including XPower as well as the ZS EV,” MG Motor Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ciao, said.

It will be interesting to see whether BYD or GWM return serve with permanent drive-away pricing of their own, but for now, MG has bragging rights on offering the two most affordable EVs in Australia.

MG actually has the two cheapest EVs on the market, because the base-model MG ZS EV Excite is also now ,990 drive-away.
MG actually has the two cheapest EVs on the market, because the base-model MG ZS EV Excite is also now ,990 drive-away.

Pricing for the MG4 tops out at $59,990 for the sporty XPower, while the ZS EV Long Range tops the small SUV range at $46,990.

The MG4 is also beating its two closest rivals when it comes to sales figures. With data for just the first two months of the year, the MG4 has found 983 homes, while the BYD Dolphin is around half that at 475. The GWM Ora is a distant third with 186 sales.

However, if you include the other affordable electric hatch, Nissan’s leaf, that has only sold 41 units in the same period, and it starts from $50,990 before on-road costs - $10k more than the others.

2024 MG4 drive-away pricing

VariantsCost
51kWh Excite$39,990
64kWh Excite$44,990
64kWh Essence$46,990
77kWh Essence$52,990
XPower$59,990

2024 MG ZS EV drive-away pricing

VariantCost
Excite$39,990
Essence$42,990
Long Range$46,990
Tim Nicholson
Managing Editor
Calling out the make and model of every single car he saw as a toddler might have challenged his parents’ patience, but it was clearly a starting point for Tim Nicholson’s journey into automotive journalism. Tim launched the program, Fender Bender, on community radio station JOY 94.9 during completion of his Master of Arts (Media and Communications). This led to an entry role at industry publication GoAuto, before eventually taking the role of Managing Editor. A stint as RACV’s Motoring Editor – including being an Australia’s Best Cars judge – provided a different perspective to automotive media, before leading him to CarsGuide where he started as a Contributing Journalist in September 2021, and transitioned to Senior Editor in April 2022, before becoming Managing Editor in December 2022.
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