On December 14, Zhou Yu, GM of SAIC’s MG brand division, claimed in a Weibo post that the first new MG to launch in 2025 would have a semi-solid state battery as standard and that it wouldn’t be expensive. He also claimed that the MG brand would launch the DMH plug-in hybrid power system in 2025.
MG launches in China for 2025 will, according to Zhou, consist of two all-new models and two facelifted models.
The announcement by Zhou seems to be a significant backtrack on previous information from MG. Previously, Yu Jingmin, executive deputy general manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle, revealed in a media interview that SAIC’s self-developed all-solid state battery would be first installed on an MG car. Back in September, when the comments were made, it was believed the vehicle would be launched in the second quarter of 2025.
There are two possibilities. Firstly, what Yu Jingmin said could be correct, but the date is not in 2025, but maybe 2026 or 2027. Alternatively, SAIC may have backtracked, and what was previously promised to be a solid-state battery is now actually just a semi-solid state battery.
Previously, another SAIC brand promised a car with a semi-solid battery. Originally, the Light Year edition of the IM L6 was promised to go on sale in September. However, the MIIT listing, which is necessary for a call to be sold in China, was only in December, meaning the car will still be a few months off actual sales.
It is likely that MG’s semi-solid state battery is closely related to the one used in the IM L6. Based on known information about forthcoming MG cars, the most likely recipient of the battery will be the Cyber GTS. This will obviously be one of the all-new MG models launched in 2025, and given the cost of the battery, it will debut on a more expensive model despite claims by Zhou that it wouldn’t be expensive.
The L6’s battery is 123.7 kWh and has an energy density of more than 300 Wh/kg, giving a range of more than 1,002 kilometers using the CLT cycle. It supports quasi-900V ultra-fast charging, and has an ultra-fast charging power of 400 kW, which means it can add more than 400 kilometers of range in just 12 minutes.
What the second all-new model will be is unknown. There are currently a number of newer MG models available overseas which have yet to be introduced to the Chinese market. These include the second-generation MG3 supermini, second-generation MG ZS compact SUV, and second-generation MG HS SUV.
Interestingly, although MG does not offer the DMH powertrain in China, it has already been introduced elsewhere with the MG HS. This makes it possible that the second new model to be introduced by MG in the Chinese market in 2025 could be the second-generation MG HS.
For the British market, this car uses the GS61H 1.5T plug-in hybrid powertrain system. The combined power for the system is 220 KW, and the combined torque is 350 Nm. Battery capacity is 24.7kWh, and the MG HS plug-in hybrid can deliver an EV range of up to 75 miles (120 km) using WLTP measurement.
MG’s DMH powertrain is essentially the same as that offered by fellow SAIC brand Roewe in its D7 sedan and D5X SUV.
Source: Autohome, Weibo
