MG dismiss dip in demand for EVs as its sales surge

Carmaker MG has insisted that a drop in electric car interest is “short term” as sales of its vehicles surged last year in the UK.

- HOWARD MUSTOE

The brand, which started life in Oxford in the 1920s is now owned by SAIC, the largest of China’s state-owned car makers.

Many will know it as a sportier stablemate of the defunct Rover brand. After a hiatus following Rover’s collapse, it was relaunched by its new owners and has grown quickly through keen pricing and a generous supply of cars.

The company said that last year sales surged to £1.4bn from £1bn a year earlier.

“The ending of sales of internal combustion engine cars in the next 10 years is approaching and MG’s strong electric car offering with a good mix of internal combustion engine vehicles allows us to deal with the short term UK drop in demand for electric vehicles whilst placing it in a strong long term position to take advantage of [the] move to electric cars,” the company said in its annual report.

Its new owners also have better access to batteries for electric cars since much of the refining capacity for lithium, a crucial component, is found in China. With 4 per cent of the UK car market MG has outsold rivals including Mini, Peugeot, Renault and Volvo in the year so far.