New MG2 due in 2027: £20k EV aims to deliver 'British' style to the supermini class

The Renault 5 and Citroen e-C3 might have to watch their backs, because the all-new MG2 is arriving next year to challenge the highly-talented electric superminis with the kind of exceptional value for money we’ve come to expect from MG, injected with a more British sense of style.

Auto Express first learned about the plan to launch an all-electric alternative to the MG3 supermini two years ago, with the brand’s entry-level EV – almost certainly called MG2 – expected to cost from around £20,000 and be designed to offer the right balance of range, size and price for its class. 

A lot has happened since then of course, such as the Citroen e-C3 winning our Car of the Year award in 2024. Then there was the arrival of the Renault 5 and Fiat Grande Panda, which quickly became some of our favourite small electric cars on sale and are available to order now through the Auto Express Buy A Car service. There’s also the Volkswagen ID. Polo, Cupra Raval and Kia EV2 coming very soon.

In order to stand out from all those rivals and others in this class of characterful, compact electric cars, there’s a big focus on style with the MG2 that apparently is going to have a more British flavour to it. 

In an exclusive interview with Auto Express, Jozef Kaban, vice president of global design, revealed that while MG’s UK design team is involved with every project, “here it's actually even deeper, let's say more in the even leading position for that project”. 

Kaban added: “Even when we are talking about an international brand with international design teams in different places, here we know that we want to deliver something that is not just global, but maybe a bit more British.”

The design chief described the MG2 as “like the cute baby in the family” and “kind of a little toy”, being the entry-level EV in the manufacturer’s line-up. “I think we will all enjoy it when it comes out,” he added, “and it will be a little moment that we will probably remember for a longer time.”

Kaban wouldn’t reveal any specifics about the car’s design, only that while it may draw from the brand's other models, such as the sharp, rather dramatic MG4 or the softer, more rounded MG4 Urban, this will not be a shrunken version of either. He told us the MG2 will go in a slightly different direction to both.

MG’s head of product and planning in the UK, David Allison, told Auto Express the MG2 “will give us a real opportunity from a design point of view, and how the brand evolves point of view, to make another statement and make sure that we are continuing to offer product in a segment that we're not necessarily able to do right now”.

The product boss also said the electric supermini segment is “obviously a space that lots and lots of people have moved into, and definitely one that I believe we should be represented in”.

Our exclusive images take cues from the combustion-powered MG3, which is 4.1 metres long, blending them into a downsized model with a few traits from the popular MG4, such as its sharp nose design and sleek LED headlights.

Inside, we expect the MG2 will borrow a lot from the newly launched MG4 Urban, including the brand’s latest cabin design, which represents a massive leap forward in both tech and quality compared with what the original MG4 offered when it was introduced just a few years ago. 

Every MG4 Urban has a 12.8-inch touchscreen and a seven-inch digital driver’s display that we could see being carried over to its baby brother, as well as its slim bank of physical dials and buttons for the climate control, plus other key functions. MG’s familiar, slightly square steering wheel should feature as well, also with the sort of physical buttons that VW has been making a big deal of including in its new ID. Polo.

We previously assumed the MG2 would be using the same ‘Modular Scalable Platform’ as the MG4, but now the brand has introduced its next-generation ‘E3’ architecture which focuses on maximising cabin space, efficiency and cost effectiveness – ideal traits for a cut-price electric supermini.

The first model based on the E3 platform was the MG4 Urban, which is more affordable and spacious than the original MG4 because of a front-wheel drive layout, not rear-wheel drive as with its sibling, and a simpler torsion-beam suspension set-up at the rear.

The MG4 Urban has either a 41.9kWh or 52.8kWh usable battery, which are very similar in size to the packs offered in the Renault 5 and its near-identical twin, the Nissan Micra. It’s therefore possible the MG2 will inherit those battery options, too, which would give it upwards of 280 miles of range, matching the ID. Polo. 

The all-new MG2 is due to be revealed in the second half of 2026, but it won’t be making its way into UK showrooms until sometime the following year. 

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