- MG is working on a small electric city car for 2027.
- The GO! concept previews a production hatch and looks a lot like a Mini, with MG heritage cues.
- If MG gets the price and design right, this could be its most interesting EV yet.
Ever since China’s SAIC got the rights to the MG brand, it has mostly produced pretty generic vehicles, usually just rebadges or slightly modified versions of what SAIC sells in China, with the one notable exception being the Cyberster. However, it looks like the MG is finally digging into the brand’s British heritage with its latest concepts, one of which previews a future electric subcompact.
The pint-sized MG GO! Unveiled at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the new Mini looks a lot like the current Mini, with the same bug-eyed fascia and similarly shaped faux grille. If this study were wearing a Mini badge, you wouldn’t give it a second thought, even if it’s far from being a copy.
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Source: MG
Officially, MG says the GO! is “much more than” a look at a future electric city car. The manufacturer has definitely noticed that subcompact EVs like the Renault 5 E-Tech are getting a lot of attention and finding buyers. The retro style-infused French hatch was among the best-selling EVs in Europe last year, and it’s not hard to see why.
That’s why MG also seems to be playing the retro card with a new model that draws from iconic models from the brand’s past. Cars like the MGB GT, MG Metro Turbo, MG ZR, and MG EX4. The point, according to MG, was not to create a nostalgia exercise, but a contemporary small car with a playful personality and plenty of emotional draw.
A convenient excuse to design a supermini like this, especially since retro-flavored small EVs are getting a lot of love.
There are no battery, range, power, or charging figures yet, nor is there an exact time frame for the production model’s reveal. It will lose the blistered fenders and feature less aggressive fascias, but the basic shape and layout will remain the same. This will likely become the next MG2 when it arrives next year.
The Cyberster already serves as MG’s poster vehicle, reminding everyone of its British heritage. But a nostalgia-infused small car could serve that purpose even better, especially if it sells well. If it looks like this, is pleasant to drive, and competes with European (and other Chinese) rivals on price, it could become a hit.
MG has been doing pretty well in Europe, recently announcing that it had delivered over 317,000 EVs and 130,000 hybrids on the continent. It recently replaced its bestselling MG4 with an all-new model and also introduced the smaller and cheaper MG4 Urban (which has semi-solid-state batteries), bringing the total number of models it has on sale in Europe to 11 (not including powertrain variations).