If the electric sports car has a future among the middle class, it goes through China: the MG Cybertester is the example

He Mazda MX-5 It is one of those cars that has managed to carve out a niche in automotive history. It’s not the fastest or the most spectacular but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like it. Its premises are one of those that dazzle anyone: sporty, light and affordable.

And although at first it was not convincing within the company itself, it was soon discovered that the formula was successful. So much so that it has not stopped being sold since, at the edge of the 90s, it was put in dealerships. Its peculiar history can be found in this interesting article from motorpassion.

More than three decades later, the sector has completely changed. If the Mazda MX-5 was born to occupy the space that the English and Italian firms were abandoning (the light-powered sports car), now any small combustion car runs the risk of risk of disappearing in Europe.

Anti-pollution regulations and improvements in active and passive safety have been pushing prices to a point where the Mazda MX-5 has become a Rare avis, with its starting price of just over 30,000 euros. With the European Union determined to bet on the electric car, it is China’s turn.

an approach

A sports electric car with a contained size and a attractive price? It will be Chinese. At least for the moment, because European manufacturers do not seem to have the capacity to manufacture electric vehicles that meet all these premises.

If the Japanese convertible occupied the space that until then occupied the English and Japanese firms, the MG Cyberster seems to do the same in the coming years. He electric convertible It can be bought in Europe. For now, we can already see their leaked images.

The MG Cyberster is the sports and electric bet of this company with a name of English origin but Chinese capital. With the MG4 Electric they have managed to show that, for now, the low cost electric is reserved for vehicles arriving from this country, offering electric autonomy similar to its rivals but at more competitive prices.

If the rumors come true and according to the measurements of its prototype, the MG Cyberster will move in four and a half meters and will offer two mechanical options. One of them will be rear and will exceed 300 CV. The second, with 536 hp, will be all-wheel drive and will have one motor per shaft. Its weight should be close to two tons.

That is to say, the electric car that wants to dethrone the MX-5 as the “affordable sports car” is a mere approach to the current Miata, since it will measure half a meter more and will be noticeably heavier (some versions of the current MX-5 are around a ton), which until now was a non-negotiable value for the Japanese model.

It will be Chinese or it will not be

But, if something attracts the attention of the figures that are handled in the rumors, it is its price. If they are fulfilled, the new MG Cyberster would be located on the border of the 40,000 eurosa price that, at the moment, is very difficult for European manufacturers to match.

If we stick to other electric cars presented, from the future electric mini cooper A floor price of 30,000 pounds has already been set for the access version. More than 33,000 euros for a car that will offer a 40 kWh battery, which on the open road or at sports pace on a mountain road will leave it with less than 200 kilometers of autonomy. Y is the access version.

Smaller but wanting to be the best among “small electric sports cars”, the Abarth 500e. A car with much smaller dimensions than the MG Cyberster but which, despite everything, will start from the 43,000 euros. The battery will in this case be 42 kWh, so it presents the same problem as the Mini.

Playing at 40,000 euros and with sporting aspirations, at the moment the little we can find is the Cupra Born (with a 58 kWh capacity battery), but its conception is very different from what the MG Cyberster will offer.

At the moment, European manufacturers they can’t fight with prices with Chinese manufacturers. Not only MG, BYD is also a good example of that. Although they have decided to enter the Spanish market with models that start at 41,200 euros, such as the BYD Atto 3, their rivals have higher prices if their equipment is matched.

The manufacturing costs of the electric car are being so expensive that Volkswagen is already considering 25,000 euros as the new floor. One of the main problems is the battery. The same batteries that they manufacture from China under much more advantageous conditions, since they control the supply chain.

If we add to this that production in China is much cheaper than in Europe or the United States, manufacturers from Asia have a capacity to play with prices that Westerners do not. And put on the table a electric convertible sports car at 40,000 euros is just the latest example.

In Xataka | Europe has insisted on imposing the electric car. The first beneficiary is already China

Photos | MG