MG Motor UK’s first all-electric vehicle, the ZS, is to be unveiled at the London Motor & Tech Show at the ExCel in just a few days’ time. This family-friendly electric car promises to be chock-full of technology – the most technology MG has ever tricked out its cars with – which may well explain why almost 800 people have already registered their interest in the ZS EV, the most for any pre-launched model in the company’s history.

Daniel Gregorious, Head of Sales and Marketing at MG Motor UK, says: “The arrival of the ZS EV represents the start of MG’s long-term brand and product expansion plan and we are delighted to be able to share it with the British public for the first time. This new MG bares all the key hallmarks customers know and love about the standard ZS in terms of flexibility, space and generous standard specification, but it just so happens to be a fully electric SUV.”

After crunching the numbers, the ZS EV is expected to clock up 170 miles on a single charge. It uses a single 148bhp electric motor to power the front wheels, will go from 0-31mph in 3.1 seconds with 258lb-ft of torque, and with fast-charging capacity claims that about 80 per cent of the battery can be charged in just 30 minutes. The first wave of cars will go on sale on 1 September, though MG will throw open its order books at the London Motor & Tech Show on 16-19 May if you want to get in early. Failing that, potential customers can register their interest at mg.co.uk/electric

Most people who buy an SUV do so for space, and MG says that the ZS EV has exactly the same capacity as the ZS inside and in the boot because of where the batteries are installed. It seats five people, with room for luggage and, if the boot space does indeed remain at 483 litres, it will have a slightly larger capacity than the Kia e-Niro.

Speaking of the Kia e-Niro, MG is expected to undercut both this and Hyundai’s Kona Electric, so it could start from as little as £24,000 once the Government grant has been applied, though exact prices have not been revealed yet. The ZS EV will come with MG’s fully transferrable seven-year warranty.

Looking ahead, the GS, MG’s current flagship model, will be replaced at the end of the year and its successor will get a plug-in hybrid variant by summer 2020.