New MG ZS EV coming in 2022 with styling, tech updates
Australia’s most affordable electric vehicle, the MG ZS EV, is headed for a substantial update.
Due in Australia mid-2022, the refresh is expected to adopt the exterior and interior styling and upgraded presentation of the newer ZST small SUV.
EV Central understands the badge probably won’t change with the look, so it will continue to be known as the ZS.
Another priority of the update will be improving the passenger experience when it comes to controls, especially touch screen latency which has been a subject of customer feedback.
That should be enabled by improved back-end technology.
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“We are looking at ways to improve the vehicle,” confirmed an MG Australia spokesman.
“Technology is certainly moving in that EV space and we are looking to see what we can do in the next iteration of the ZS EV.”
The MG ZS EV currently retails in Australia for $44,990 after an increase of $1000 in early July. But along with that came a two-year bump in warranty coverage to seven years, matching the seven-year warranty on other MGs.
It is the top-selling non-Tesla EV in Australia in 2021.
Currently, a 44.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack feeds a 105kW/353Nm electric motor that drives the front wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.
The maximum claimed range is 263km according to the European WLTP measure, but around 220km has been found to be more realistic in real-world testing.
It is unlikely the drivetrain will undergo dramatic improvement as the ZS EV sits on an orthodox ICE platform and MG is shifting to a new generation of dedicated BEV architectures going forward (starting an EV from the ground up allows optimum placement of motors and batteries, rather than having to fit them in to holes previously filled with petrol engines and fuel tanks).
There is some chance battery chemistry and pack capacity will be improved and range might be increased, but this is unconfirmed as yet.
