Rover 45 sales have dropped to a low now - the new one will help as it looks like it will be a big improvement, both to the exterior looks and the new interior, and that should translate into increased sales for both the 45 and the ZS.

But you are right, this will only help lift sales in the short term - say the next 18 months or so. But lets be realistic, that's all that MG-Rover need - a stopgap solution until the new RD60 get going. If the Rover 45 continues to sell after that, all well and good, but then volumes won't be such a big issue, as the 45 will be able to be built alongside the 25 on the same production lines.

 

Yes as the RD60 will take some of the pressure off next year.

 

I am also starting to worry. Have MGR left it to long? How much further can they afford to let sales drop? MGR must get this car built ASAP. They still have to replace the 25 and the TF. By the time the RD60 is build will MGR be able to handle the losses on the 25? Come on MGR get it built!

 

i think the TF has quite a few years left in it yet -

stats are always misleading - and these percentages are unclear -

with the addition of the 9% sales from the cityrover - then its very difficult to compare -
putting the TF to one side then i see the MGR line up falling into two sectors

small/city (25+CR) - family/exec (45+75)

comparing these we see
25+CR %age change +7%
45+75 &age change - 6%
(TF +1%)

i think this reflects the market changes for less company and fleet car purchases(due to company car tax) and an increase market for small/city cars for first time buyers
TF sales %age as convertable sales increaseing across UK market

what we are really looking at here are swings
we are seeing a swing from the 45/75 market to the CR/25 market

aslong as total volume sales arent hit then there isnt too much of a problem -
if someone doesnt like the 45 then there is everychance a salesman would be able to sell them a 25 or a 75 -

the big problem is that the market for a 5 door family hatch is falling - tradional rover 45 buyers are increasing looking at mini people carriers or cars such as the new vauxall ones on tell or the focus Cmax - they see cars like the 45 as unstylish/unpractical and probably percieve these slab sided van conversions as safer as they look "sturdy"

i cant remember the last time i saw a family get out of a rover 45/400 -

however ignoring CR sales %ages the 25 share has increased since 2001 - this doesnt surprise as the ZR has given sales a healthy boost and the R25 has a much trendier image amongst todays car buyers compared to the 45

there is a massive increase in the 75 market share ignoring CR sales - i can assume this is due to the good press /survey results enjoyed by the R75 - aswell as offering something that little bit extra than the competeition



i

 

Of course the Rover 45 and the MG ZS can soldier. The quote from Winston Church springs to mind "We will never surrender".

I reckon the new looks of the ZS will receive quite a strong following and the facelift lift 45 will encourage buyers to 'take another look'.

Ok if weren't an avid MG-R fan and you were in the market for a new small/medium size car. You decided to buy a car based on its looks and how it drove so test drove a 1.6 Focus, Astra, and a new 45 (probably other competitors). What would the result be...how good would the Rover 45 initial impression be?

Much of the motoring press refers to the 45 as dated externally but I reckon that the average Joe or Joanne wouldn't notice (especially with a new front end).

 

Of course the Rover 45 and the MG ZS can soldier. The quote from Winston Church springs to mind "We will never surrender".

I hope you're right but Joe Public is new metal driven. Motoring journalists are too, boy are they shallow. As shallow as a mud flat....at low tide. :naughty:

stats are always misleading - and these percentages are unclear - with the addition of the 9% sales from the cityrover - then its very difficult to compare - putting the TF to one side then i see the MGR line up falling into two sectors small/city (25+CR) - family/exec (45+75)
comparing these we see
25+CR %age change +7%
45+75 &age change - 6%
(TF +1%)

I don't know why you would put the 45/75 together. They're quite different. The 45 has slumped, the 75 has held well. Take the CR out, then the figures are as follows:
25/Z range from 43% to 45% (of total).
45/Z range from 26% to 17%
75/Z range from 23% to 30%
F/TF range from 07% to 08%
The 25 includes SW which is selling well. The 45 has dropped 9% of the production total. The new 45/Z has to sell well to claw that back for 18 months. I really hope it does as it is still a good car, despite what those 'mud flat' journos say.

 

Just to help this post along, I would like to point out to you all that I am proud and excited to be placing my order today for a NEW 45 2.0 TDi Connoisseur 4 door saloon!

I just need to decide on colour schemes.

What I will say is that over the weekend I have looked at the Audi A3, New Golf, Passat, 307, New Astra and Vectra.

Whilst each time I sat in one of the above I though Hmmmm, nice, I couldnt get any of the cars with the spec that I can have in the Connoisseur, plus, aside from the Passat, all the above cars are euroboxes and frankly by the last car I looked at I was completely bored with the look.

I checked out a currenty 45 just to remind myself of it's dimensions and I decided, which I think I had already decided before looking, that the Rover was the one to go for.

I will admit that some of my decision is based on brand loyalty, but still it's another 45 sale!


(incidentally, I was in the Dealer for 20 minutes, and in that time they sold a 135 TF and a ZS120)

 

yay another 45 sale.

have a pint on me :beer:

Do they duo paint styles for the 45?

 

Just to help this post along, I would like to point out to you all that I am proud and excited to be placing my order today for a NEW 45 2.0 TDi Connoisseur 4 door saloon!

I just need to decide on colour schemes.

What I will say is that over the weekend I have looked at the Audi A3, New Golf, Passat, 307, New Astra and Vectra.

Whilst each time I sat in one of the above I though Hmmmm, nice, I couldnt get any of the cars with the spec that I can have in the Connoisseur, plus, aside from the Passat, all the above cars are euroboxes and frankly by the last car I looked at I was completely bored with the look.

I checked out a currenty 45 just to remind myself of it's dimensions and I decided, which I think I had already decided before looking, that the Rover was the one to go for.

I will admit that some of my decision is based on brand loyalty, but still it's another 45 sale!


(incidentally, I was in the Dealer for 20 minutes, and in that time they sold a 135 TF and a ZS120)

Good choice. The 45 has more substance than many newer cars on the road. On a sad note, MGR NZ only sold 2 cars in April. Spain & Belgium were pretty flat. Are they waiting for the facelift models to arrive? By the way is yours a facelift one, cityrover? I guess they all are by now.

 

Good choice. The 45 has more substance than many newer cars on the road. On a sad note, MGR NZ only sold 2 cars in April. Spain & Belgium were pretty flat. Are they waiting for the facelift models to arrive? By the way is yours a facelift one, cityrover? I guess they all are by now.

Only 2 MG-Rovers sold in New Zealand :sad3: That is no good, where did you get that figure from?

All MG-Rover needs in NZ is some good advertising to riase brand awareness. Maybe a new MG ZT leading the hikoi convoy down to Wellington? Or perhaps a LWB Rover 75 government car to allow Ms Tariana Turia plenty room to lie down on the back seat?

I think that would go some why to riasing the profile of MG-Rover.

 

By the way is yours a facelift one, cityrover? I guess they all are by now.

I certainly hope so! :doh:

Yes, my order has been placed for the 2004 MY Facelift version, I checked with MGR they said that the old one is no longer going down the track, and any order for a 2004 MY is for the new version.

 

Only 2 MG-Rovers sold in New Zealand :sad3: That is no good, where did you get that figure from?

www.mia.org.nz/sales.htm

Especially bad as Bentley, for example sold 5 cars in April. Foden trucks, the company's only export market, I believe, sold 13! Come on MGR.

 

Facelifted Rover 75´s are now one sale in Holland and France.

In France MG Rover are advertising quite heavily and promoting the Rover 25 and 45 Parkline.

 

Facelifted Rover 75´s are now one sale in Holland and France.

In France MG Rover are advertising quite heavily and promoting the Rover 25 and 45 Parkline.

And MGR had a very good month in Portugal. Sherry anyone?

 

The 45 may soldier on in Britain. It will do MGR no favours in overseas markets. The sooner it is gone and RD60 is here the better.

 

The 45 may soldier on in Britain. It will do MGR no favours in overseas markets. The sooner it is gone and RD60 is here the better.

Maybe not in Australia or American (they like big cars and a big T-bone steaks served up rear). But in European countries and NZ MG-Rover has a better image than it does in the UK. The average NZ buyer has no idea that the ZS is coming up 10 years old! The advertising slogan is 'let compromises be for other people'.

 

Maybe not in Australia or American (they like big cars and a big T-bone steaks served up rear). But in European countries and NZ MG-Rover has a better image than it does in the UK. The average NZ buyer has no idea that the ZS is coming up 10 years old! The advertising slogan is 'let compromises be for other people'.

That is so true. There are a lot of cars on our Roads that have older origins than some people perceive. And so what if they do, are they worse cars? not always. The 45 can most definitelty soldier on, many countries that car would be well sought after.

Look at China for example, their best selling car is a 20+ year old passat. Even the new Passat cannot outsell it in China! and we are talking 150,000 models plus! a year.

 

I'm not going to put too fine a point on this. Youse live in fantasyland. The average buyer in New Zealand if they were blind would not know that the 45 was a decade plus old honda civic. I have been to New Zealand. I do not claim to fully know the country like a native. But I do believe that the average Kiwi can see.

The average chinese buys what is available and what they can afford. Very like the original buyers of the 80's passat.

Anyone that is not looking specifically to support MG-Rover and British industry, or who does not find one cheaper than any possible rival is not going to buy a car that is so obviously a bloody Honda Civic in a timewarp. Especially not in a country like the USA, where small British cars did so well in the fifties and sixties, but where Sterling failed so abysmally, trying to sell even more antiquated versions of the same car.

 

I'm not going to put too fine a point on this. Youse live in fantasyland. The average buyer in New Zealand if they were blind would not know that the 45 was a decade plus old honda civic. I have been to New Zealand. I do not claim to fully know the country like a native. But I do believe that the average Kiwi can see.

You really do have a bee in your bonnet over the Rover 45 and its derivatives. Just because you hate the car does that mean everyone else has too...can you expect the fact that some people actually like the 45/ZS...as strange as it may sound.

The Honda Civic that the Rover 400 was based on was never sold in NZ. There are plenty of Honda Domani around but nobody has ever connected it with my car (only the door handles look the same). Ok I admit that it is common knowledge among people in the car industry that the Rover is based on a Honda but the details such as the age and what Honda is lost on people.

As long as the car looks good. And I am sorry but a body coloured MG ZS in night fire red with a subtle spoiler looks good. If I brought one of those (which I plan to one day) I assure you no one is going to say 'OMG it is a Honda'.

 

You really do have a bee in your bonnet over the Rover 45 and its derivatives. Just because you hate the car does that mean everyone else has too...can you expect the fact that some people actually like the 45/ZS...as strange as it may sound.

The Honda Civic that the Rover 400 was based on was never sold in NZ. There are plenty of Honda Domani around but nobody has ever connected it with my car (only the door handles look the same). Ok I admit that it is common knowledge among people in the car industry that the Rover is based on a Honda but the details such as the age and what Honda is lost on people.

As long as the car looks good. And I am sorry but a body coloured MG ZS in night fire red with a subtle spoiler looks good. If I brought one of those (which I plan to one day) I assure you no one is going to say 'OMG it is a Honda'.

Here here. Couldn't have put it better myself.

 

Facelifted Rover 75´s are now one sale in Holland and France.

In France MG Rover are advertising quite heavily and promoting the Rover 25 and 45 Parkline.

Facelifted 75 are now on sale in Spain as well.

Any idea when the CityRover will be sold in Spain??? Any other country in mainland Europe already selling it???

 

Facelifted 75 are now on sale in Spain as well.

Any idea when the CityRover will be sold in Spain??? Any other country in mainland Europe already selling it???

I posted a quote a little while a go saying that the CR was going to be introduced to selected Euro markets during May. It has taken too long to get them there IMO, and not all markets are getting it, due to limited supply, I presume.

 

I've been driving a 53 plate 45 Impression 1.6; despite some of the trim in poor nick, the car is actually a good drive. People who knock the 45 probably have never driven one. I was surprised how good it drove, smooth, quiet, and handles just fine. All it lacks are some extra toys.

 

FWIW i've seen "quite a few" '04 45's over here in Ireland - loads of ZR's and 25's too so they seem to be selling well.

 

FWIW i've seen "quite a few" '04 45's over here in Ireland - loads of ZR's and 25's too so they seem to be selling well.

Sales of MGR in Ireland are up in volume and market share, one of the few markets that are. The Irish have taste, don't you think. A rather discerning lot. They enjoy their Guinness too. :beer: