MG to launch first electric car with solid-state battery in 2025

1 month, 4 weeks ago - 5 September 2024, autocar

MG parent SAIC accelerates cheaper, more energy-dense batteries and the first is due in a production EV next year

MG will begin to equip electric cars with solid-state batteries within the next 12 months, an official from its parent company, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), has confirmed.

Speaking at the Chengdu motor show in China, Yu Jingmin, executive vice president of SAIC’s passenger vehicle operations, revealed that new solid-state battery technology developed by the company and set to be shared with other SAIC brands will soon be launched in an MG model.

Yu, the former sales and marketing boss of the SAIC-Volkswagen joint venture, wouldn’t be pressed on the identity of the first MG to receive a solid-state battery but indicated it is planned to be unveiled during the second quarter of 2025, before going on sale later in the year.

The ambitious move advances MG’s previous planned timing on the introduction of solid-state batteries to its production models by more than 12 months.

It also places MG ahead of its mainstream market rivals, including Volkswagen, in the planned adoption of solid-state battery technology in volume models.

MG sibling brand IM Motor has already revealed its new L6 saloon with first-generation solid-state batteries jointly developed in a partnership between SAIC and Chinese battery specialist Jiangsu Qingtao.

IM's 'Lightyear' battery is claimed to offer a more than double the energy density – at 368 watts per kilogram – compared with its existing lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery. With a capacity of 133kWh, it provides the L6 saloon with an official range of 673 miles on China's Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC).

IM Motor says the Lightyear battery is also able to provide its latest model with up to 249 miles of range in 12 minutes on a high-powered DC charger.

No details of MG's first solid-state battery have been revealed yet but indications are it will have the same 5% liquid mass proportion as the battery used by IM Motor and operate on an 800V electric architecture.

The move to equip MG models with solid-state batteries indicates SAIC is planning a steep production ramp-up of the new technology, in a bid to reap important economies of scale across its various brands. Previously, the company said it expects solid-state batteries to offer cost savings of up to 30% over LFP batteries in the longer term.

SAIC brands Feifan and Roewe have also indicated plans to adopt solid-state batteries in future models.

As well as revealing MG’s solid-state plans, Yu also confirmed the new MG S5 electric SUV revealed in registry filings lodged with China’s Ministry for Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in July will be launched in China in November 2024 ahead of planned exports in 2025.

The new 4476mm-long model, tipped for sale in European markets by this time next year, is set to be offered with a choice of single- and dual-motor drivetrains in combination with a LFP battery.