MG CYBER X WILL MORPH INTO BUDGET FAMILY SUV

SCOOP Boxy small electric SUV is gearing up for production with a sub-£30,000 price tag, and our exclusive images show how the five-door model might look

- Richard Ingram

THE MG Cyber X first seen at April's Shanghai Motor Show 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 to be based on parent company SAIC's new E3 platform, which underpins the latest Chinese-market MG4, the as-yet-unnamed production version of the Cyber X concept could showcase new battery and motor technology for the brand in Europe. Rumours suggest the MG4 will get semisolid-state batteries later this year, heralding big advances in cold-weather efficiency, as well as boosting range in the winter months.

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 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.”