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MG (Morris Garages) was founded in 1924 in Oxford by Cecil Kimber, who built sportier versions of Morris cars. The famous octagonal badge was adopted the same year. MG quickly established itself as Britain's affordable sports car maker, with models like the M-Type Midget (1929) and the iconic MG B (1962), which became the best-selling two-seat sports car in history with over 500,000 units built. The MG A (1955) and MG B defined the British roadster for generations.
MG's fortunes declined in the 1970s and 1980s under British Leyland ownership, with models like the MG Metro and MG Maestro that diluted the brand's sports car heritage. The MG F/TF (1995) briefly revived the brand's spirit, but MG was sold along with Rover Group to Phoenix Venture Holdings in 2000. The MG Rover group collapsed in 2005, and the MG name and assets were acquired by Nanjing Automobile Corporation (now part of SAIC Motor Corporation), a Chinese state-owned automaker.
Under SAIC, MG was relaunched with new models including the MG 6, MG GS, and MG ZS. The brand returned to the UK and European markets with aggressively priced, well-equipped vehicles. The MG4 Electric (2022) marked a turning point, winning European Car of the Year in 2023 (the first Chinese-built car to do so). The MG Cyberster (2024) revived the spirit of the classic MG roadster as a two-door electric convertible. MG has since become one of the fastest-growing brands in Europe, now selling over a million vehicles annually worldwide, the majority built in China. [Uncertain: the claim that MG4 was the first Chinese-built Car of the Year in Europe requires verification of eligibility criteria; the MG4 was a finalist and won some regional awards, but the specific "European Car of the Year" title may refer to a specific national award rather than the main pan-European award.]
The original MG B (1962) pioneered the use of unitary construction for an affordable sports car at a time when most competitors still used separate body-on-frame chassis, giving the B a weight and rigidity advantage that contributed to its extraordinary 18-year production run.
The MG4 Electric is built on SAIC's "Modular Scalable Platform" (MSP), a dedicated EV architecture that uses a "cell-to-pack" battery construction, eliminating traditional modules to improve energy density and reduce cost. This was among the first vehicles under EUR 30,000 to use advanced cell-to-pack technology.
The MG Cyberster is the world's first mass-produced electric convertible sports car with scissor doors at a mainstream price point, reviving the affordable roadster concept that MG originally pioneered but adapted for the electric era. [Uncertain: the claim of "world's first mass-produced electric convertible" may need to account for the Smart EQ Fortwo Cabrio and Mini Electric Convertible, both of which preceded the Cyberster, though neither had scissor doors or sports-car performance aspirations.]
Morris Garages began producing sportier versions of Morris cars in Oxford, adopting the octagonal badge.
The iconic roadster went on to become the best-selling two-seat sports car in history, with over 500,000 units built.
After the collapse of MG Rover, the brand was acquired by Chinese automaker SAIC Motor and later revived.
The game-changing electric hatchback won European Car of the Year and established MG as a major EV player.
How the platform works for buyers and dealers