- Chinese-backed MG Motor will sell the world’s first small mass-market EV with a semi-solid-state battery in Europe soon.
- A new version of the MG4 Urban hatchback with a semi-solid-state battery will debut later this year.
- Compared to traditional fully liquid-based batteries, semi-solid-state packs promise more safety and faster charging speeds.
While the American EV market is looking a little grim at the moment, Europe is going full steam ahead, and Chinese automakers want a piece of the pie. After debuting the world’s first affordable electric car with a semi-solid-state battery in China last year, MG Motor is bringing the technology to Europe later this year to try to convince budget buyers that there’s life outside the Volkswagen Group, the Renault Group, and Stellantis.
By the end of 2026, a new version of the entry-level MG4 Urban electric hatchback will hit European dealerships, rocking a battery pack that has a liquid content of just 5%, compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries that typically have around 20% liquid electrolyte. As a reminder, the MG4 Urban is different from the MG4, both in styling and price.
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Source: MG Motor
Full-on solid-state batteries that have 0% liquid electrolyte are still considered the gold standard, but they’re a few years from becoming a reality, so SAIC, MG’s parent company, came up with a transition technology that promises many of the same advantages as solid-state packs.
The main selling points of MG’s SolidCore battery, which was co-developed with China’s QingTao, are its ability to deliver consistent charging and discharging at low temperatures, as well as improved safety, with no thermal runaway when tested for nail penetration and three-way extrusion.
MG SolidCore battery
Photo by: MG Motor
The charging speed is also a bonus, with MG claiming its semi-solid-state battery can charge 15% faster than its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) packs, so drivers will need to spend less time at charging stations. The LFP-quipped MG4 Urban needs somewhere between 28 and 30 minutes to go from 10% to 80% state of charge when connected to a DC fast charger, and the power input tops out at 82 or 87 kilowatts, depending on the pack size.
Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but the semi-solid-state MG4 Urban will likely be slightly more expensive than the currently available LFP-powered versions, which start from £23,495 ($31,400) in the United Kingdom. In China, the semi-solid-state-powered model starts from roughly $14,500 and has a CLTC-rated range of around 330 miles (530 km).
That said, MG’s approach flips the script on how new technology is introduced in new cars. European and American carmakers have traditionally fitted the latest and greatest tech to the most expensive models first, which would then trickle down to more affordable options. Now, though, the SAIC-owned company is doing the opposite, with the hopes of getting enough orders to make the technology sustainable.
“For our new technologies, the main challenge is the supply chain,” Li Zheng, MG’s chief battery scientist, told Automotive News Europe earlier this week. “If we choose to deploy first in a top model, we cannot afford the volume of the materials, and we cannot assure the quality.”
