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All-electric MG E230 being evaluated for India – here’s what we know about the mini electric car
When MG unveiled its mini electric vehicle, the E230, at the Auto Expo 2020, no wonder it garnered a lot of attention for its cutesy styling matched with the two-door look and compact footprints. At that time, the all-electric MG E230 looked like a perfect solution for urban mobility on four wheels, with MG even indicating that it is evaluating the car for the Indian market.
After more than two years of unveiling it in India, MG is finally considering launching the E230 in India as its smallest and most affordable all-electric car. Recently, a two-door fully-electric car was spied testing on the Indian roads nearby MG’s manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat, which indicates that it is the same MG E230 at the Auto Expo 2020. The car is already on sale in the Chinese markets in rebadged versions like Baojun E200 and Wuling Hongguang EV. Here’s what you need to know about this upcoming electric car from MG:
Design and Dimensions
The MG E230 previewed at the Auto Expo 2020 wore a funky design all over it, and the production-spec model is expected to retain the design when it goes on sale in India. While the overall size, two-door look and silhouette of the MG E230 are very much similar to its rebadged versions, it gets a completely different design.
The Wuling Hongguang EV measures 2,197mm long, 1,493mm wide and 1,621mm tall, and has a wheelbase of 1,940mm. The MG E230 is expected to have more or less the same dimensions, thus making it even smaller in footprint than the smallest car which has ever gone on sale in India, the Tata Nano.
If the model displayed at the Auto Expo 2020 is anything to go by, the futuristic and mini-car like the design of the MG E230 will have a cutesy-looking front fascia, comprising of trapezoidal headlamps with projector bulbs and dual-functioning C-shaped daytime running LEDs and C-shaped bronze gold inserts above and below the headlamps. At the back, the car gets red surrounds for the rear windscreen with LED inserts integrated into the sides of the windscreen. The rear bumper gets vertical tail lamps positioned on the corners of the rear bumper with bronze-gold surrounds.
On the inside, the MG E230 will have a minimalist but funky layout for the cabin, with contrast-coloured inserts, a two-spoke multi-functional steering wheel and a TFT instrument console behind it – some things which its distant cousin, the Baojun E200, gets in general.
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Powertrain
The MG E230 will share its GSEV platform with the Baojun E200 and Wuling Hongguang EV, which is essentially a platform developed by the collaboration of SAIC-GM-Wuling. For the Indian car market, the MG E230 might get a 20 kWh battery pack, which will offer a maximum range of around 150 km – a range good enough for short city commutes on daily basis. The motor powering the E230 might see its positioning at the front, which is likely to be a 54 bhp unit.
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Market Positioning
For the E230, MG is aiming at smaller nuclear families, which want a compact EV for their daily office commutes or short runs to restaurants, cafes, pubs and shopping centres. The small battery and motor of the MG E230 will not allow the car to be a vehicle for long distances, which makes it a good option for someone who wants a secondary vehicle for urban runabouts.
With a funky design and modern features, the MG E230 is expected to be priced under the Rs 10 lakh mark. If it happens, the MG E230 can become the most affordable electric car in the Indian car market, given its compact size and dimensions. For its official launch, Rajeev Chaba, Managing Director and President, MG Motor India, has already said that MG’s next launch will be an electric crossover based on a global platform, which will come to India towards the end of FY 2022-2023. For the Indian market, this global platform and powertrain will be localized as per Indian regulations and customer preferences.
The MG E230 is not the first two-door electric car meant for India, for that title already is held by Reva, which evolved into e2o after Reva got acquired by Mahindra. However, while Reva and e2o failed to pick up the pace in the Indian market due to poor marketing, quality niggles and negligible awareness and charging infrastructure. On the other hand, the MG E230 will come at a time, when the electric car market will expand significantly. And considering the quality of MG’s current products, the E230 will also be a desirable product for the masses.
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