Fast Lane: MGS5 arrives, Smart #5 launch in second half of 2025, SNY car registration opens

Category A COE electric SUV MGS5 arrives

MG’s new electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), the MGS5, was created to have the same sense of accessibility and sportiness that has been core to the brand since it was founded in 1924, said SAIC Motor advanced design director Carl Gotham.

SAIC Motor is the Chinese state-owned automotive giant which took over the English brand in 2007.

In a video interview with The Straits Times on April 9, before the launch of the MGS5 at Suntec City Atrium, Mr Gotham said it was important to balance carefully the brand’s legacy with technology, so as not to alienate buyers.

The MGS5 is built on the same platform as the MG4, but developed for a more mature and premium positioning than the electric hatchback. This is in terms of the kind of materials used in the interior and an overall design that he described as being “less assertive and more approachable” than the edgy MG4.

Mr Gotham heads a team of 20 designers in SAIC’s London studio, which looks into the future in areas such as design, consumer preference and user experience. Their work includes the electric roadster Cyberster, the MG4 hatchback, the HS SUV and the radical EXE181 concept car.

User interfaces, such as the touchscreen, have been simplified and are more concise in the MGS5 than in earlier models. Expect other MG models to follow suit, said the design director.

Mr Gotham added the company has taken a deliberate decision to have physical buttons for frequently accessed features in the car, rather than relying solely on the touchscreen.

The MGS5 is a Category A certificate of entitlement (COE) car with its 99kW motor output. The 62kWh battery gives it an operating range of 425km. The car has a list price of $188,888 with COE before discounts and is on display at the MG roadshow at Suntec City Atrium until April 13.

Punchy Smart #5 in second half of 2025

The Smart #5 is the third model from the electric car brand to receive the Brabus treatment after the #1 and #3.

At 4,695mm long, the #5 Brabus is larger than the BMW X1 (4,500mm), if not quite as big as the BMW X3 (4,755mm).

The dual-motor family SUV packs 475kW, giving it a 0-100kmh timing of 3.8 seconds, up from 250kW and 6.9 seconds for the entry-level, rear-motor version of the #5.

Design differences from the standard #5 are relatively minute, with a front diffuser and different wheel design on the outside and an Alcantara steering in the cabin, together with a peppering of Brabus badges.

The Smart #5 is expected to be in Singapore in the second half of 2025.

CATL eyeing Nio’s battery-swopping unit

Chinese battery manufacturer CATL is said to be in discussions to take a controlling stake in Nio Power, the business unit of electric vehicle-maker Nio that operates the battery-swopping stations in China, according to a Reuters report citing sources that asked not to be named as the talks are not yet public.

Nio Power has more than 3,000 battery-swopping stations. They provide charging and battery-swopping services for Nio electric vehicles as well as those of other brands. Its battery-swopping technology is able to switch out a depleted battery pack for a fully charged one in under three minutes – quicker than filling up the fuel tank of an internal combustion engine car.

SNY1A to SNY9999L car registration open for bidding

Bidding for SNY series car registration numbers 1 to 9999 opens from 1am on April 11 to midnight daily, until 4.30pm on April 16. Interested parties can bid for up to three different registration numbers for the same prefix at the same amount in one bid submission at

onemotoring.lta.gov.sg

. Only one registration number will be awarded, if successful.

The minimum bid amount is $1,000 and each submission costs $18.53. Results will be released on the OneMotoring website at noon on April 23.