MG4 debuts in China

MG pulled the wraps off its updated MG4 on April 15, nine days before the Beijing auto show opens on April 24. (carnewschina.com) (autochinashow.org) The car is a compact battery-electric hatchback from SAIC Motor’s MG brand, and Chinese filings list a 4,395 millimeter body, a 2,750 millimeter wheelbase, and a single 120 kilowatt front motor. (carnewschina.com) (data.carnewschina.com) MG is advertising one version with what Chinese coverage calls a “liquid-solid” or semi-solid-state battery, a pack that uses some solid electrolyte material instead of relying only on liquid chemistry. CarNewsChina’s model database lists that trim with a 54.0 kilowatt-hour pack from Qingtao Power and a 530 kilometer China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle range. (carnewschina.com) (data.carnewschina.com) That battery language is not new for MG. The redesigned MG4 went on sale in China on August 29, 2025, and deliveries of its Anxin Edition with a semi-solid-state battery began in December 2025. (cnevpost.com) (carnewschina.com) SAIC has said it plans to spread semi-solid-state batteries across more brands in 2026, while keeping full solid-state production for 2027. The MG4 is one of the clearest retail products attached to that timetable. (automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com) (saicmotor.com) The launch lands in a Chinese market that is still selling huge numbers of electric cars but is leaning harder on exports. China’s March new-energy vehicle wholesale deliveries rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier, while domestic sales fell 18.3 percent and exports more than doubled to 371,000 units, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers data cited by CnEVPost. (cnevpost.com) Pressure on automakers has not gone away. Reuters reported in March that Volkswagen took the top spot in China car sales as electric-vehicle subsidies faded, and Reuters has separately reported that overcapacity and a price war have hurt Chinese automakers’ finances. (usnews.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) MG is trying to answer that squeeze with price and volume. CarNewsChina’s database shows 2026 MG4 trims in China starting at 68,800 yuan, with the semi-solid-state “Anchor Edition” listed at 102,800 yuan before discounts. (data.carnewschina.com) The Beijing auto show will be the next test. Organizers say the 2026 show runs from April 24 to May 3 across two Beijing venues with 380,000 square meters of exhibition space, giving MG a bigger stage for a hatchback it is using to sell both mainstream pricing and newer battery branding. (autochinashow.org)