What's the news?
MG has whipped the covers off the Dynamo concept, a fully-electric model it hopes can propel it into the future of the automotive industry. It was revealed for the first time at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' (SMMT) HQ in London this week.
The Dynamo is said to have been developed to gauge European demand for a small, full electric vehicle from MG. The concept car is the latest creation to emerge from parent company SAIC Motor's European Design and Technical Centre (SMTC), located with MG Motor UK at the brand's historic Birmingham-based Longbridge site.
Alongside the Dynamo (which is actually based on the Roewe E50 EV sold by SAIC in China, a car that makes 71hp and 155Nm, and has a theoretical maximum range of 100 miles, but a more realistic one of just 50) were the more conventional MG3 and MG6 models, which have helped MG Motor UK to its best-ever Q1 sales performance. Year-to-date sales are up by 574 per cent compared to last year... and this colossal percentage increase over 2013's figure probably gives you an idea of how few cars MG is really selling. MG says this 'success' is down to the arrival of the 3, the diesel version of the 6 and a growing dealer network.
Anything else?
This year is the 90th anniversary of the MG marque - although we appreciate you might not count the hiatus years from 1980-1993, when it was purely used as a sporting badge for old Montegos and the like, or from 2005 to 2011, when it didn't exist at all. To celebrate, there's an MG90 event to be held at Silverstone on June 21-22. All MGs from the company's history are welcome.
Matt Robinson - 17 Apr 2014