BitAuto has posted spy shots of what it reports is
the MG ZS-based pure electric vehicle, which is currently under development.
Carmakers in China are in a war to introduce electric vehicles as it is a
segment which has found traction among the domestic car buyers.
Electric car sales surged in China last year, and
according to a report from the International Energy Agency, China had the
highest sales of battery electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles of any
nation in 2017, with sales of 579,000 units. EVs and PHEVs had a 2.2% market
share in China which is the highest market share for their category across the
world (the USA follows with a 1.2% market share for EVs and PHEVs).
Coming back to the ZS-based EV, the body shell is
identical to the regular ZS, though in the production version, engineers could
make changes to the grille and airdams to enhance aerodynamics and channel cool
air to the batteries. The interior appears identical to the gasoline ZS,
however, here too expect changes to the driver interface system to display
charge and range available, the status of the batteries and whether
regenerative braking is assisting to the charge the vehicle.
The ZS EV could borrow its electric architecture
from sister brand Roewe's E RX5 (SAIC owns Roewe and MG Motor). An 85 kW
electric motor with 255 Nm of torque and a 48.3 kWh battery provide a range of
320 km and a top speed of 135 km/h on the E RX5.
