Reports out of the UK overnight have confirmed MG will produce the second-generation version of its flagship Marvel R Electric SUV in right-hand drive to take advantage of booming sales there and in Australia.
Atocar has quoted MG UK’s Commercial Director, Guy Pigounakis confirming the move and bemoaning the fact the current, first-generation Marvel R Electric is built for Europe in left-hand drive only.
“Tragically, if we did have Marvel R now, we could probably have sold 6000-7000 this year,” he said.
As in the UK, Australian MG sales have risen dramatically over the last five years. As recently as 2017 MG recorded just 600 registrations for the year, with the brand now a regular on the top 10 sellers leaderboard and on track to exceed 45,000 sales in 2022.
The current Marvel R Electric is the brand’s marquee offering in Europe with the top-spec triple-motor Performance grade priced at the equivalent of $75,000 Australian dollars, producing 212kW/665Nm, and delivering 4.9 second 0-100km/h acceleration.
When contacted by CarsGuide MG Motor Australia was unable to confirm whether the car would come to the local market, however in terms of timing the new model is expected before 2025.
Mr Pigounakis also predicted MG’s ‘Modular Scalable Platform’ (called ’Nebula’ by parent company SAIC in China), already underpinning the MG4 hatch (confirmed for Australia in the first half of 2023), would sit under the next version of the popular ZS EV (due around 2024), with the same architecture likely to be applied to the new Marvel R.
The current Marvel R Electric is a five-seat SUV measuring just under 4.7m long, 1.9m wide and 1.6m tall, with a 2.8m wheelbase, and is offered in dual-motor rear- or triple-motor all-wheel drive configuration. The AWD version features one motor on the front axle and two on the rear.
With a claimed range of over 400km (WLTP), it features an 11kW on-board three-phase charger, and the lithium-ion battery is suitable for DC fast-charging, facilitating a 0-80 per cent fill in 30 minutes. It also boasts V2L (vehicle-to-load) capability.
On-board tech includes a 19.4-inch multimedia touchscreen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.
In terms of practicality, boot volume with all seats up is 357 litres, growing to 1396 litres with the second row folded. The RWD version also incorporates a 150-litre ‘frunk’ under the bonnet.
The current car also features leading-edge active safety tech under the umbrella of ‘MG Pilot’, including ‘Intelligent Speed Limit Assist’, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, AEB, lane-keeping assist, intelligent high-beam, blind-spot detection, ‘Door Opening Warning’, ‘Traffic Jam Assist’, and a 360-degree camera view.
But even though the current model’s design and specification is impressive, MG UK’s Guy Pigounakis says the second-gen Marvel R Electric is “a completely different car”.
So, stand-by for an ultra-efficient, premium electric SUV likely to take the MG brand into lofty new territory when it arrives here, likely within the next two years.
Keyword: MG Marvel R Electric for Australia by 2025? Next-gen version of premium SUV to be built in right-hand drive: Report