MG is going after the Renault 5 and Ferrari Purosangue (sort of)

Is MG Chinese or English? It’s a classic British name, owned by SAIC (from Shanghai), which has taken the UK market by storm in recent years with EVs full of Chinese technology.

Well, now it seems the plan is to appeal to even more European buyers with cars that look like some of Europe’s best sellers.

The first is an orange hot hatch that looks like the lovechild of a Renault 5 and an electric Mini Cooper. It’s called the Go!, apparently ripping off the Volkswagen Up!’s love of a grammatically correct exclamation mark.

MG says the Go! “is more than a glimpse of a future new B-segment electric hatchback being launched in 2027". In other words, they’re promising you’ll be able to buy something that looks very like this next year.

Meanwhile, a new SUV looms in the shape of the MG Cyber Concept. Note: no exclamation mark! Clearly this car wants to be taken very seriously. Indeed, MG says it previews a new flagship model – a range topper.

Here’s what MG says about it (be warned – it’s peak buzzword nonsense): "As a large, high performance electric SUV, [the Cyber] combines the versatility and practicality expected by modern customers with the emotional appeal, dynamic character and sense of occasion traditionally associated with sports cars."

Riiight. Because we’re forever mistaking BMW iXs and Tesla Model Ys for Mazda MX-5s and Toyota GR86s.

In fairness, the car looks more handsome than MG’s current EV SUV crop. There’s dashes of Ferrari Purosangue, Lotus Eletre and Hyundai Tucson in there. And you can be confident a production version would be cheaper than all three.

So, is this the moment MG comes of age as a reborn brand you might buy because you want one, not simply because it’s cheaper than the European competition?