MG Motor’s first electric car stands chance of becoming the pride of the state fleet.

GOVERNMENT has joined private buyers in showing interest in the first electric car offered here by a Chinese brand.

Getting onto the an all-of-Government fleet tender system, from which Government department drive choices are made, was recently acknowledged by Anthony MacLean, country manager for the car’s maker, SAIC Motor, and is a big green tick for the MG ZS EV.

The medium crossover will release in November for $55,990 plus on-roads, a sticker that will make it the country’s cheapest wholly battery-driven car – a title presently held by two contenders, the Nissan Leaf and Volkswagen e-Golf. Both currently listed at $61,990.

Though the price-leader status is not necessarily indicative of electrics suddenly becoming cheaper to build – in that this model is still almost double the price of the most expensive of the four petrol versions – the EV’s placement will surely hold appeal to taxpayer-funded fleets that have been tardy to follow policy to buy more electrics, mainly because it has struggled to afford them.

The five-seater model is from MG, which through its background of British birthright, prefers to see itself an international entity, though it’s ownership by Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) rates it as a pukka Chinese automotive industry success story.

As sharp as the launch price might seem, the car was even cheaper for the 120 Kiwis who pre-ordered. 

Fifty who put their dollars 12 months ago benefitted from an early bird $49,990 buy-in that achieved target within a fortnight of announcement. 

Conceivably, if the Government gives it a go, then the purchasing process will seek to extract an even cheaper deal. 

Expectation of discounts of up to 30 percent off RRP are often cited when the industry lets slip about the State’s bulk purchase processes.

The car is an intriguing opportunity. With a 44.5kWh lithium-ion battery, a 110kW/350Nm permanent magnet synchronous motor, and a NEDC-based electricity consumption of 13.8kWh per 100km, it seems set to offer reasonable performance.

Whether it will raise range anxiety has yet to be seen. In respect to how far it goes on a charge, with a factory-cited 262kms it tops the Golf but bows to size-equivalents the Leaf and Hyundai Kona.

MG Motor New Zealand itself has set a slightly lower range expectation of 250km based on driving in Auckland, mixing with urban traffic but excluding motorways, with the air conditioning on and with a driver and passenger. It says this trial was undertaken to validate real world range versus WLTP testing data, not to confirm or claim motor efficiency.

How it might perform at a steady 100km has yet to spelled out. But there’s good reason why the brand is reminding its customer base that the national recharging network is in reasonable shape, with a public charging point of some kind available every 70kms of main national highway on average.

The CCS Combined and Type 2 charging ports in the grille are compatible with the national charging infrastructure.  The car can be powered up to 80 percent in 40 minutes using a 50kW fast-charger, seven hours with a 7kW charger unit of the type that can be installed at home - or simply trickle charged using a standard three-point plug.

SAIC Motor makes its own charging boxes, but MG here has opted to use a third party supplier, TransNet, to supply and install a Wallbox range of home chargers in customers’ homes. 

MG has also announced a T edition of the ZS in 1.3-litre turbo petrol format, featuring the MG Pilot driver safety provision that packages a spread of assist functions, including forward collision warning, auto emergency braking, lane departure warning, a traffic jam assist and adaptive cruise with an intelligent capacity.