Latest News from MG-Rover.org

If I asked you who SAIC were, would you know? OK, regulars will of course know, but for those who don't, SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is the parent company of MG Motor UK and is based (as the name suggests) in Shanghai, China and is the largest car manufacturer in China, the largest automotive market in the world. They sold 3.58 million vehicles in 2010, 160,000 of them being MG or Roewe models, a huge increase up from 90,000 the year before.

MG Motor is proud to announce today, the international launch of the MG6, the first all new MG motor car since the launch of the MGF sports car.

Guy Jones, Sales and Marketing Director for MG Motor UK said, “This is a milestone day for the iconic MG brand and for the UK automotive industry. MG has begun the international launch of an all new model that has been designed and engineered here in the UK, for the global automotive market. Currently we only build and sell the mid-engined TF sports car here in the UK, but we can now look forward to expanding the range of MG products.”

The launch takes place at the Guangzhou Auto show in China and is the beginning of an exciting new global future for the MG brand. The launch in China, the world's largest automotive market begins the international roll out of sales of MG6 which includes the UK. Sales in China will begin in January and plans for the UK and other markets will be released during 2010.

It was also announced today that production of MG6 for the China market will begin at the brand new state of the art factory in Lingang, China in December 2009. It is also planned to commence production of MG6 at the Birmingham plant in the UK before the end of 2010.

From the day William Morris started building bicycles at Oxford in the early 1890's, to the launch of the latest MG; the TF LE500, the MG brand has been in a constant state of growth, development and improvement. Since its first day as Morris Garages, MG has grown under the stewardship of some of the most well known, popular and exotic names in British and world motoring.

Successive owners have benefited MG in different ways and all have proposed their vision for its future.  However, one thing each guardian of the MG name had in common was the need to retain the essential Britishness of the company, its values and the cars that it produced.

Fancy a drive of the new LE500 MG TF before anyone else? You can do thanks to a new auction setup in aid of the Chinese earthquake victims.

Leading motor industry companies have got together to raise money for the relief effort supporting victims of the Sichuan earthquake which killed 50,000 but left millions more vulnerable.

Led by Paul Stowe, Project Director at Shanghai LTI (a Joint Venture between London taxi maker LTI and Chinese motor group Geely), and Ashley Sutcliffe, the man behind the highly-regarded China Car Times web site, the initiative involves a charity auction conducted over the Ebay web site.

At 09.30 yesterday the auction went live with participants being asked to bid for a series of ‘priceless prizes'. “The Chinese car companies and Joint Ventures have been extremely generous to the cause – but by pooling our resources, we have managed to squeeze a little bit more out of them, and are offering the chance to bid on some truly ‘once in a lifetime opportunities' to give even more than they already have to the Sichuan earthquake appeal”, says Paul Stowe.

On offer are the following items:

•    Two exclusive 1:18 scale models of Lifan cars (Lifan is a fast emerging car maker with its roots in one of the world's largest motorcycle makers) – the models cannot be bought and have fully functioning features, including opening doors and working suspension

•    A month's free advertising on China Car Times (the space normally costs $1,000) from July to August. CCT receives over 1.6 million page views a week from all over the world and is the premier English-language web site monitoring the growing Chinese automotive manufacturing sector.

•    An exclusive visit to the LTI plant in Coventry UK, home of the iconic London taxi. The offer includes a private tour of the factory, lunch, a drive in one of the latest Iconic ‘Black Cabs' and some special merchandise.

•    Courtesy of NAC MG, a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Longbridge, Birmingham, as it re-launches the MG brand into Europe, along with the heavily revamped MGTF sports car. Included in this offer is a drive in one of the first MG TF LE500 vehicles to be built at the newly re-opened MG factory.

•    A visit to the Lotus sports car plant in Hethel, Norfolk, UK, with a rare chance to try a range of the latest products from the world-renowned brand on the company's own test track.

“Thanks to the generosity of three great British car companies – Lotus, MG and LTI – we are offering prizes that money cannot buy”, says Paul Stowe. “This shows that not only is British motoring alive and well in the UK, but also that the industry recognizes that its social responsibility is global – all the companies are intrinsically linked in China having either wholly owned or Joint Venture companies established there. All companies employ Chinese people and have been deeply moved by the events in Sichuan, and each has individually contributed to the Charity causes supporting the people and the families affected”.

The Chinese charity auction concludes at 09.30 am on 24 June.

Further details about the individual work done by the Chinese automotive industry are at http://www.chinacartimes.com/2008/05/19/automotive-donation-updates/ and at Paul Stowe's own website: www.carryoncabby.blogspot.com

The relevant Ebay links for the auction are:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330244883964
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330244891023
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330244893429
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330244897166
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330244899250

Both SAIC and Yuejin Motor, the parent company of Nanjing Automobile Corporation (NAC) have confirmed the integrated cooperation between each other after five months' delicate planning.

On 26th December 2007 Mr. Hu Maoyuan, Chairman of SAIC and Mr. Wang Haoliang, Chairman of Yuejin signed a cooperation agreement at the People's Congress Hall in Beijing. Also present were Mr. Zeng peiyan, China's Vice Prime Minister, leaders from the National Development & Reform Commission, Shanghai municipal government, Jiangsu province and Nanjing municipal government as well as the top management teams of SAIC and NAC and principals from China's leading automakers.

According to the cooperation agreement, automotive businesses of NAC will be fully integrated into SAIC. Within the business units of NAC, complete vehicle and first-tied parts business will be integrated into SAIC Motor, a public listed company largely held by SAIC, and other business, related to components, service and trading will be within a newly established joint venture, Donghua Company.

After the merger of the two companies, business planning, R&D, sales and marketing, manufacturing and supply chain management will be fully integrated, contributing towards synergy and better performance throughout home and overseas markets. The long term objective of the cooperation is to build SAIC into China's largest automaker with global competitiveness while NAC into a leading manufacturing base in China.

The comprehensive co-operation sets up a benchmark for the optimization and restructuring of Chinese automotive industry. It will improve industrial concentration and benefit the utilization of industrial resources. It will also accelerate the development of independent R&D and innovation capability as well as international competitiveness of Chinese auto industry.

The cooperation is fully supported by China's central government and the respective local governments of Shanghai, Jiangsu province and City of Nanjing.

The cooperation will strengthen the functions of R&D, sales and marketing and manufacturing at Longbridge. The UK business is vital for SAIC to enhance its multinational operations competence.

Following the integration there will be a further input of resources into Longbridge. With the TF being the first product launched, it will be followed by other new MG products.

On 27th July, 2007, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and Yuejin Motor Corperation had signed the letter of intent, showing both sides are willing to cooperate together and poll resource and assets to avoid competition. (NAC is a subsidiary of Yuejin Motor Corporation, similar to the way MG Rover was under Phoenix Consortium.)

According to the letter of intent, SAIC and Yuejin Motor will the adhere to the principle of a comprehensive cooperation, establishing a joint task force to investigate possible programmes and cooperation in the fields of vehicles, car parts, car sales and services, and the task of reorganising the relevant assets, to bring about the integration between SAIC and NAC.

This act is supported by the provincial governments of the respective companies.

Source: http://www.nanqi.com.cn/docc/news/ne...p?auto_id=1994

English Source: http://www.china.org.cn/english/business/218894.htm
 

NAC MG (UK) has announced that it has appointed Luffield Cars and the Merritts Motor Group as the UK's first official MG franchise dealers since NAC bought the company two years ago. This represents a significant step towards the commercial re-launch of the historic brand and it is anticipated that the MG retail network will expand to around 80 dealers nationwide.

The new MG TF 2-seater sportscar which recently made its public debut, will be sold from the Luffield Cars premises in Loughborough, Leicestershire, and two of the Merritts Motor Group's Buckinghamshire-based premises in Amersham and Aylesbury. Each will have dedicated showroom space adhering to the MG's new corporate identity guidelines which will house MG sales personnel, and a service technician.

Delighted at the unveiling of the new MG franchise dealers, Stephen Cox, Sales and Franchising Manager for NAC MG (UK) explains: “We are very pleased to welcome two very highly-experienced and well-renowned retail groups to the MG network. This is another indication of the very bright future that the brand can look forward to.”

David Wood, General Manager for Luffield Cars, which was previously a recognised MG X-Power specialist and still a popular MG service centre in the UK comments: “We feel very privileged to have been chosen as one of the founding retailers of the new MG franchise network. We are fully committed towards the development of the business and we consider the future of MG cars to be extremely exciting. We look forward to continuing to provide customers with the highest quality service, products and after-care.”

Kevin Badrick, General Manager for Merritts, a former MG Rover retailer for 10 years, states: “We are very excited to once again be associated with an iconic name which boasts such a rich heritage, and to be the one of the first confirmed franchised dealers is very special. I'm sure that the strength of the MG marque, its fantastic new products and our commitment and experience with the brand and to our customers, will prove to be an offer too good to refuse.

Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation and Healey Automobile Consultants Limited, in conjunction with HFI Automotive Ltd, are delighted to announce their intention to collaborate with each other on the future development of the Healey and Austin Healey brands and sports cars bearing their name.

The agreement puts an end to long standing issues about ownership of the brands and trade marks and expands opportunities for joint trade between the companies.

Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation is the Chinese parent company of Nanjing Automobile Corporation (UK) Ltd which acquired the assets of MG Rover in July 2005. It is engaged in the manufacture and sale of automobiles worldwide and have recently re-inaugurated production of one of Britain's favourite sports cars, the MG TF, at its Longbridge plant.

HFI Ltd is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and sale, worldwide, of sports cars and are the automotive partner of the owners of the Healey brand (Healey Automobile Consultants (HAC)), providing automotive design, engineering, manufacturing, logistics, sales and marketing and consultancy services to HAC.

A Chinese article posted on the China News website appears to detail plans for production at Longbridge.

 

In addition to the already known TF production, Wu Ming, MG Technical Director in China has stated that Longbridge will also assemble MG3, MG5 and MG7 vehicles.

 

The MG3 is the update of the ZR, supposedly some sort of cross between the streetwise and the ZR, the MG5 - a reportedly substantially facelifted and revised MG ZS and the MG 7, which was announced last week.

 

Combined targets for 2008/09 are 50,000 vehicles over two years from Longbridge.

 

Source: http://www.chinanews.com.cn/auto/cjx...4/934619.shtml

Thanks to Andy Ho for the translation in his weekly Chinese News Thread.