MG Cyber X will morph into a mini-Mercedes within two years

This year’s MG Cyber X Shanghai show car will transform itself into a boxy, budget-friendly, all-electric family SUV within the next two years, and our exclusive images preview how the new car could look. Predicted to start from less than £30,000, it has the potential to steal sales from pricier European alternatives when it arrives in showrooms in 2027.

While quite unlike anything MG has built to date, the firm’s UK product and planning boss David Allison sees it as a “spiritual successor to the [Suzuki] Jimny”. That car, sold here only in three-door form, was discontinued shortly after it arrived in 2018 due to increasingly stringent emissions regulations. But the Cyber X will be offered only as a five-door EV, Auto Express understands, with a choice of single and dual-motor powertrains.

Likely based on parent company SAIC’s new E3 platform, which underpins the latest Chinese-market MG4, the as-yet-unnamed successor to the Cyber X concept could showcase new battery and motor technology for the brand in Europe. Rumours suggest the MG4 will get semi-solid-state batteries later this year, heralding big advances in things like cold-weather efficiency, boosting range in the winter months.

But despite MG’s recent foray into the premium market with the Tesla-rivalling IM5 saloon and IM6 SUV, the showroom-ready Cyber X won’t be a high-end, super-expensive alternative to the Land Rover Defender or Mercedes G-Class. 

Instead, the reborn British brand’s squared-off SUV will target budget-conscious buyers currently looking at Ford Pumas and Jeep Avengers. “You know where we price our cars,” Allison told us. Asked if that meant a starting figure of less than £30,000, he said: “Easily. But that’s for the future.”

The current MG range kicks off with the MG3 at just over £17,000 through our Buy A Car service but the HS family SUV is at least £26,000 and the Cyberster roadster starts at £55,000 so MG does already venture away from its budget brand roots. 

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Peeling back the concept car’s bold looks, we expect the Cyber X to change only slightly in its transition from design study to production reality. It’ll keep its angular styling and squared-off edges, plus its almost completely flat front end and subtly flared wheelarches. We can expect a bit more black trim to make it better suited to a primarily urban environment, although front and rear cladding, plus a raised ride height, will give it at least a modicum of off-road capability.

The main changes will therefore concern the intricacies of the Cyber X’s design. The cool pop-up headlamps on the show car’s bonnet will almost certainly be replaced by more conventional light clusters, while the model’s budget billing may see the full-width light bar swapped out for individual units on either side of that upright nose. If the concept is to be believed, however, we should see the daytime running lights sit separate from the main lamps, with the latter nestled neatly within the lower bumper.

The show car’s illuminated MG badge won’t see the light of day, either, mostly in an attempt to keep a lid on costs. As such, expect extras such as the concept’s panoramic roof to be ditched, too, or at the very least reserved for top-spec models.

The back should see fewer changes; imagined again in our exclusive images. The upright rear end has a whiff of Mercedes EQB about it – itself a sort of scaled-down G-Class – with a light bar sitting just above another large MG logo. Our car shows the boot release separate from the badge; another cost-saving initiative in keeping with the SUV’s low price point.

The interior will likely take inspiration from the Chinese-market MG4 – meaning a more minimalist design than that found on the current UK hatch. Expect a big central screen flanked by a smaller, fully digital instrument cluster. As is the case with many China-designed EVs, the cabin will be almost entirely devoid of physical switches and buttons. The bespoke electric-car platform should ensure generous head and legroom, plus a light and airy feel – only aided by the inevitably large glasshouse.

Specifics on battery and motor tech remain under wraps, but we know the MG4 is offered with a choice of 42.8kWh and 53.9kWh LFP batteries in its home market, plus a new 70kWh semi-solid-state set-up. That car measures 4,395mm long and 1,842mm wide, with a wheelbase of 2,570mm. Assuming the Cyber X would sit just above its curvaceous hatchback sibling, a slightly stretched wheelbase could, potentially, allow for a bigger battery – countering any drop in range due to the blockier SUV shape.

Speaking of which, MG claims the 4’s largest 70kWh battery can return up to 537km (334 miles) in the latest MG4 – albeit on the Chinese test cycle. Still, a range of almost 300 miles should be possible, even when factoring in the Cyber X’s bluff front end. MG says a 30 to 80 per cent top-up is possible in 20 minutes, although it hasn’t yet confirmed a peak DC charging speed for the model fitted with the latest semi-solid-state tech.

But while that range-topping battery will bring greater range and faster charging, it should also show advances in safety, with SAIC claiming that the cells have passed a series of three-direction needle-penetration tests without producing smoke. Reports suggest the chemistry housed within the new semi-solid-state battery can significantly improve cold-weather range, too; at minus seven degrees Celsius, using the car’s pre-heating function can apparently retain up to 75 per cent of the vehicle’s usable range.

Despite the unashamed off-road appearance, most models will likely feature a single motor on the front axle – again referencing its positioning as a primarily urban-suited family car. But there is a chance that higher-spec versions could add drive to the rear wheels for extra off-road traction and greater performance. Don’t expect the Cyber X to handle like a sports car, however; the high-riding body and tall suspension should put paid to that.

While we’ve yet to see any evidence of the production car undergoing testing, Allison told us at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July that he would be “very much in favour” of MG launching the Cyber X in the UK, and could see it happening “within the next two years”.

He’s confident something like the Cyber X would draw new buyers to the brand, too. “Someone buying [a Cyber X] would never buy a ZS,” the product and planning boss told us. He also said he expects the forthcoming production model “may be a little smaller” than the ZS; “like a spiritual successor to the [Suzuki] Jimny”.

Allison added: “That kind of upright stance, that kind of utilitarian look of the car – I think that would be very appealing. It would last quite well, as well.”

Although MG’s popularity in the UK may be slowing – the maker’s new-car registrations were four per cent down year-on-year, and almost 10 per cent behind in the month of July – with more than 48,000 cars already sold year-to-date, the firm’s foothold puts it ahead of big brands such as Citroen, Dacia and Renault, and within a few thousand units of Peugeot, Skoda and Vauxhall.

MG’s line-up now comprises a range of petrol, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric models, from the basic MG3 supermini and ZS SUV, through to the scissor-doored Cyberster roadster, plus the newly launched IM5 and IM6 premium off-shoots.

Given Allison’s comments on price, positioning and timing, there’s a good chance we may see the covers pulled off the production-ready Cyber X at the Shanghai Auto Show in spring 2027. However, knowing MG, it could happen even sooner – and with very little warning whatsoever.

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