MX-5 Miata

Make
Mazda
Segment
Compact

Once upon a time, MG (Morris Garages) was a popular brand that offered an enjoyable range of sports cars, but as the times and market demand changed, the brand struggled to maintain relevancy in the USA. The badge still shoulders on today with its budget offerings that are produced in China but if you ask an enthusiast of the brand, these are shadows of its heroic past.

MG, like other British brands these days, is currently owned by a Chinese conglomerate. The division in charge here is Shanghai-based SAIC (Science Applications Internal Corporation) which is also in collaboration with General Motors for certain projects. With the power of electromobility now available, SAIC has expressed a desire to inject some life into the iconic British brand with a sports car that could rival the likes of the Mazda MX-5 Miata and some other more commuter-minded products.

Thanks to information sourced by Autocar, we now have a clear idea of what MG's roadmap consists of and when we can expect the products to be shown to us. By 2024, the exciting production variation of the Cyberster concept is due to be released as the halo model of its next-generation offerings. The road-ready model is set to be shown to the world at the Beijing Motor Show next month.

MG UK commercial director Guy Pigounakis admits that this is a specialized model but because the company is in a strong financial position, it has the funds to set aside for this passion project. He explains, "The problem with sports cars is that everybody loves them but not many people buy them." He adds that the company can "afford to invest in sports cars and take a longer-term view on when there will be a return on investment" because these enthusiast vehicles "will bring [MG] massive PR and marketing benefits."

Before the sports car will be the MG 4 hatchback that is set to rival the highly competitive Volkswagen ID.3. This model's prospects are looking good as the brand thinks it'll even outsell its current champion, the MG ZS EV crossover. Speaking about the segment and the car's electric range, Pigounakis says, "The car stays true to our values of getting more from an MG. It represents cutting-edge technology, it needs to be exciting and it needs to represent fantastic value for money. That doesn't mean cheap." The executive says that the MG 4 will "be even more competitive on a pound [sterling]-per-mile-of-range basis than today."

A third model is set to follow the Cyberster and is expected to be a new SUV, which makes sense if MG truly wants to be a mainstream brand again.