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A new electric car from MG has been revealed via a Chinese government regulator, but just what the car is could be up for debate.
Listed as the MG4 in documents sourced from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) by CarNewsChina, the new electric car looks an awful lot like an MG3 in terms of its design elements and proportions.
To make matters more confusing, MG seems to have applied for approval via the MIIT with the MG4 EV badge alongside two other names, ‘MG3 EV’ and ‘E5’.
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The two other names could be used for different markets, though a new generation hybrid and combustion MG3 was just launched in Australia.
However, the ‘new MG4’ is bigger than the existing MG4 in all dimensions - making it more likely to be a replacement for the electric-only hatch if it were to land in Australia.
The new car is 4395mm long while the 2025 MG4 is 4287mm long - a substantial difference. The MG3 is just 4055mm long. The new MG4 is also 1842mm wide and 1551mm tall, and even its 2750mm wheelbase is longer than the existing MG4.
More details of the car confirmed include its power and weight for at least one variant, a 120kW motor combined with a kerb weight of 1485kg.
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While it’s clearly not just a facelift of an existing car, nor is it likely to be a replacement for what we know as the MG3 given its size, the reason for the confusing badging could be simply differing markets - the MG4 is not very popular in China, despite it (and the MG3) being top of their categories for sales here in Australia.
The MG4 was the best-selling ‘small car under $40K’ in 2024 with 6934 sales, while the MG3’s 12,563 sales made it the best selling ‘light car under $30K’. Both would also top their size categories regardless of pricing splits.
In any case, given how commonly badge names change between Chinese and Australian markets, we won’t know what this car is for sure until it’s confirmed for Australia.
The MG4 is undeniably the most popular electric hatch option on the market currently, outclassing its Chinese rivals like the BYD Dolphin and GWM Ora.
It will soon also be joined by a new electric small SUV which replaces the MG ZS EV.
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