When you factor in the cost of ownership, it is just as expensive to own a petrol-powered Mercedes E-Class as a cheap electric car from MG, new research shows.
In a test conducted by Swedish Vi Bilägere, it has emerged that a cheap electric car from Chinese MG is as expensive as a gasoline-powered Mercedes E-Class.
At least when it comes to ownership costs. Over the course of 2024, the Swedes will have just 170,000 test kilometers in a fleet of five cars, and here the much cheaper MG4 falls completely short.
It turns out that it's not that cheap to drive. Driving the MG4 ended up costing exactly the same as the much larger and more luxurious Mercedes-Benz E200 Avantgarde, which the Swedes had for testing at the same time.
This is even though the Mercedes cost 387,0000 Danish kroner (in Sweden, ed.) and the MG can be had from around 238,000 kroner.
According to the media, the test driver, who spent the same amount of time under exactly the same conditions, did not benefit from choosing the cheaper alternative. That is, the MG. On the contrary, the Chinese driver was criticized for his driving characteristics. Or rather, the lack thereof.
Ultimately, however, MG's high cost level is directly proportional to the car's extremely low resale value. The Swedes believe that the loss in value is sky-high.
According to Vi Bilägare's calculations, the MG loses just over half of its value in the first year alone. This should be seen in contrast to the Mercedes, which will 'only' lose 19 percent of its new car price during the first year.
– The Mercedes may have been expensive to buy, but rarely does a car give so much for every penny invested, comments one of Vi Bilägare's test drivers.
