Without the light effects that precede a big announcement but with the security of someone who knows they have something good on their hands. MG met us in Frankfurt, met us on the outskirts of the city and put it before our eyes. The car and its tools. The weapons to continue gaining ground in a battle that seems long.
Because with a quick presentation and a talk with its managers, the Chinese company revealed the two great advances with which it intends to continue gaining ground in the European automobile market: a new hybrid system and, above all, its semi-solid state batteries that will arrive with the new MG4 Urban EVa kind of evolution of the current MG4 Electric with which it will coexist in the market.
In 2025, MG was the brand with Chinese capital that achieved the best results in Europe. Also in our country, where it reached 45,163 registered units. The formula for success has been based on the launch of vehicles for the access range. Cars at low prices, very spacious and equipped. But, above all, very competitive if we compare them with the competition.
The strategy is paying off. Both in vehicles with combustion engines, where the brand does not have to pay tariffs, and with the MG4 Electric, which became among the best sellers in many European countries. The recipe at that time was simple: attractive price, good interior space and versions with a lot of power.
Now, MG seeks to take a qualitative leap. Continue convincing and gaining ground in those who are undecided. But, above all, they bring technology that is currently not available to any other brand.
Some semi-solid batteries to capture the market
Our gazes, therefore, were pointed at the stage where the brand representatives were passing, but what was truly important was behind us. There, behind a curtain, the new MG4 EV Urban, a compact electric car that wants to position itself as the most advanced electric car of the moment. At least if we pay attention to its battery.
At 4.44 meters long, the new MG electric car is a canonical compactor, of those that continue to triumph in the European market. To test it we will have to wait a few months but we were able to sit in it for the first time and see first-hand that we are facing a qualitative leap in quality in the interior. The car does not represent an aesthetic revolution on the outside and, of course, is less striking than the current MG4 Electric. But packaging does win.
Inside, materials have improved and the perception of quality has risen. The screens are accompanied by physical buttons to control the climate and volume with wheels and controls that offer good touch. The sound of the speakers surprised me with their good quality (yes, I have to say that I don’t have the best ear among the staff). Xataka). And it has interesting details such as the controls that we already saw in the MGS6 EV on the steering wheel or a slightly rough mobile phone wireless charging surface so that the phone does not move.
The new MG4
We will talk about all this in greater detail when we can get our hands on it to taste it in motion. Until then we will delve into the technology with which they want to hit the table with batteries that they already mass-produce. They are called “MG SolidCore Battery”.
Because the MG4 EV Urban will be the first electric car in Europe to use semi-solid state batteries. With the promise that the car will not face a superlative extra cost. On the contrary, they told us that it will move in figures similar to the current ones. At the moment, the MG bestseller is around 38,000 euros but with the brand’s aid and discounts it is currently below 28,000 euros.
What are these semi-solid batteries?
It is the first step before jumping to solid batteries, the great promise of the electric car. They are energy accumulators that improve each and every one of the current aspects of LFP or NCM batteries, the most common on the market. Currently, these batteries use electrolytes that use liquid electrolytes to move lithium ions between the electrodes and thus generate electricity. With each discharge, lithium ions travel from the anode to the cathode through the liquid electrolyte. There the electricity is produced that is used by the motors. With recharging, the electrolyte takes the opposite path.
Solid state batteries promise to forget about this liquid. This will allow, if the technique advances sufficiently, to have batteries with very ambitious ranges (more than 1,000 kilometers are targeted), in a reduced size and with more powerful charging and discharging capacity. And maintaining their security.
The semi-solid state battery is the intermediate step. MG claims that the electrolyte liquid takes up around 20% of a conventional battery right now. With its new batteries, that liquid barely reaches 5%. Solidifying that space allows them to increase the nominal voltage of the battery and therefore also improve energy density. MG points out that these new batteries reach a density of 400 Wh/kg. Part of the secret is that the mobility of lithium ions increases their possibilities, they go from moving in a one-dimensional (LFP) or two-dimensional (NCM) to three-dimensional movement using the solid electrolyte.
What does this translate into? The batteries of the new MG4 Urban EV will be smaller but will be able to travel the same number of kilometers as the current model. Although no specific figures have been confirmed, the leap forward should be qualitative because It is an evolution that feeds on itself.. If the battery is denser, it can be smaller to travel the same number of kilometers. At the same time, the weight of this accumulator is lower and the car is more efficient, resulting in better consumption data and, therefore, autonomy. But it also has other types of advantages such as less space on the floor of the car so the rear seats are more comfortable and the trunk space is also greater.
If we talk about specific figures, MG assures that these batteries can offer 20% more power with the same size but, above all, especially good performance at very low temperatures. According to their data, the charging power is 15% higher than that of current batteries in conditions of -30ºC but, in addition, accelerations are assured because it does not lose performance in these conditions. When an electric car consumes its battery or moves in such low temperatures, its performance is usually lower than that advertised on the technical sheet. MG claims to have solved that with these batteries.
All this is also guaranteed by the corresponding security tests. During the event, videos were shown in which a battery was crushed or penetrated by a nail. In no case did the battery catch fire.
The leap is qualitative because what MG promises is to democratize a technology that seemed, at least in its first versions on the market, limited to the most expensive and powerful vehicles. Although some brands have been optimistic about mass production of these energy accumulators, brands like Toyota They have pointed out that it is a type of technology that is reserved for the most expensive options on the market.
With these batteries, MG promises to overcome what is perhaps the greatest challenge of the electric car: our habits. If semi-solid state batteries offer the expected results, we will be very close to recharging our cars in the time it takes to fill a tank of gasoline.
Right now, a person who does not have a charger at home is forced to change certain habits if they want to have an electric car, such as leaving it charging during their work day or taking advantage of visits to shopping centers, movies and other leisure plans. Changing acquired habits, shaping our way of acting, is one of the biggest challenges faced by a disruptive product with the previous model. These semi-solid state batteries could be the first step to pierce the reluctance of those who still have doubts about the electric car or, simply, it is a technology that does not fit into their day-to-day habits right now.
MG experts explain to us how their new systems work
And a new hybrid system underway
In addition to these new semi-solid state batteries, which the brand does not rule out including in its plug-in hybrids in the future, the company has also presented its new hybrid scheme (in this case not plug-in).
With the MG3 Hybridthe company did not hesitate to point to Toyota (absolute queen of the market with this technology) as a great rival. In 2025, its sales in Europe with this technology reached 137,000 units and the MG HS was its flagship model. Now, the company presents the Hybrid+ systeman evolution that promises better consumption and a faster response from the electric and hybrid motor.
As in a good part of the hybrid systems that arrive from China, this new scheme uses a 1.5 liter combustion engine which relies on an electric motor to offer maximum performance through various operating modes. These modes are managed by a brain installed in the system itself which, MG assures, not only adapts energy management to the driver’s demands, but also bases its operation taking into account the terrain, its sinuosity or the slope.
The scheme, as we say, is an old acquaintance of what comes from China. The car can run in fully electric mode, with the electric motor taking power directly from the battery to drive the wheels. This same function can be performed by the combustion engine. And, in turn, both engines can project their power jointly onto the wheels to drive them at the same time. Another possibility is that the combustion engine acts as an electricity generator to fill the battery and that the electric motors drive the wheels.
This way of acting guarantees a feel close to that of an electric car since in many conditions it is only this type of energy that moves the wheels. With the combustion engine rotating at a specific number of rpm in the cycle where it is considered most efficient (MG claims to achieve 41% efficiency, a very high value for a combustion car), consumption should be lower, the throttle response faster and the behavior a little smoother.
In this specific case, the system is based on a 1.83 kWh battery with a very high energy density that operates with a voltage of 350V, so its charge and discharge capacity is very high. They promise a system based on a battery with a power of up to 138 kW but that can be charged to 151 kW at its maximum peak. The ultimate goal is for the battery to be what powers the car in the vast majority of situations and, therefore, the promise of “instantaneous torque with a first response from the electric motor”, in the words of the company.
Both this system and the electrical one will continue to evolve with the knowledge acquired in the development and research center that MG will install in Frankfurt and for which it is looking for locations. The company’s roadmap involves increasing its presence in Europe through products designed by and for Europe, a strategy that is increasingly common among firms from China.
Photos | MG
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