New Zealand's first sub-$40,000 electric car revealed

Tuesday, 20 June 2023

The MG4 is built on the Chinese brand’s new Modular Scalable Platform architecture.

For the first time in history, New Zealand consumers will soon be able to own a new electric vehicle for less than $40,000. At least, technically speaking.

MG New Zealand has confirmed that it will be adding a new entry-level grade to its MG4 hatchback line-up, in the form of the smaller battery 51kWh Excite at the price of $46,990.

The MG4 was given its local reveal at the Fully Charged EV show in Sydney, ahead of a launch in New Zealand in H2 2023.

This means that, when factoring the $7,015 Clean Car Discount rebate that comes into effect on July 1, the 51kWh MG4 Excite has an effective price of $39,975 plus on-road costs. The model arrives in late Q3 of this year.

There are a raft of asterisks to consider with the announcement. For starters, MG references that the $46,990 price tag is a presale price, meaning that those who don’t pull the trigger in advance may pay extra down the line.

There is also the possibility of the National Party pipping the current Labour Government at the looming general election in October. Should National regain government, it has pledged that it will dump the Clean Car Discount scheme.

The MG4 hatch is one of the most anticipated Chinese electric cars, and is set to arrive in showrooms later this year.

Still, the announcement represents something of a coup for MG. The first carmaker to debut a fully electric model priced at under $50,000 has now become the first to launch a fully electric model with an effective price underneath $40,000.

“This is massive news for the New Zealand EV market and it’s extremely exciting to be able to share this groundbreaking announcement with electric vehicle fans nationwide,” said Arek Zywot, MG New Zealand country manager.

The MG4, BYD Dolphin, and GWM Ora will all be gunning for local affordable EV supremacy by the end of the year.

“We are incredibly proud to be able to offer the most affordable new fully electric vehicle to Kiwis who want to adopt zero-emission motoring.

“MG has been leading the charge with attainable electric vehicles since the launch of the local award- winning ZS EV and, with the debut of the dynamic new MG4 and the sub-$40,000 post rebate 51KWh model, we maintain our leadership position in this space.”

MG’s overnight update completes what has been an unorthodox release of information to say the least.

Being built on an EV-specific platform should ensure that the MG4 is more refined than the MG ZS EV that came before it.

The brand initially confirmed pricing for only the top-spec 64kWh Essence. It then announced pricing for the base 64kWh and flagship 77kWh models the week after, with this latest news coming just over a month after the last update.

The 51kWh MG4 is rated to travel between 300km–350km to a charge overseas, although local spec has yet to be formalised.

The MG4 was already priced compellingly relative to its BYD Dolphin and GWM Ora EV hatch rivals. As previously reported, its 64kWh Excite and Essence grades are set to be priced from $51,990 and $54,990, respectively.

Its flagship 77kWh grade, meanwhile, is priced from $63,990, making it the most affordable EV with a range of more than 500km of charge.

The $40,000 price marker has taken on new meaning in recent years as the price of new vehicles has steadily increased.

At a time, $40,000 used to be the reliable starting point for the mid-size SUV segment. Nowadays, though, it is more commonly associated with compact crossover pricing and even flagship hatchback pricing.

For reference, a flagship Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid and Honda’s Civic Sport are priced from $43,190 and $47,000, respectively. The recently launched Honda ZR-V is also priced from $47,000, and the recently overhauled Nissan Qashqai is priced from $45,990.