China Car Times

China Car Times readers have long been saying there will be a merger between SAIC and Nanjing MG, we didnt really think anything would happen between the two Chinese auto giants, after all, they only have 2 cars that share the same DNA and it looks like SAIC is making fresh metal Roewe anyway, however, higher ups in the Chinese central government believe that two seperate companies making pretty much the same car (Rover 75 based cars) looks a bit foolish, and have been pushing the two parties to work together.

To buy the remains of bankrupt British car maker, MG-Rover in 2005 NAC looked internally to raise the cash needed (67 million pounds!), each of its subsidiary companies ponied up a few million to stick into the pot to buy MG-Rover. NAC were successful with their bid, and undercut SAIC a lot, even managing to get more from MG-Rover than SAIC did, for less. One of the NAC subsidiary companies that stuck dollars into the pot for the MG Rover purchase, Yuejin (a maker of light trucks and a small car) has signed a letter of intent with SAIC to explore the possibility of working together on the Nanjing MG auto project.

Also, Paul Stowe, the Director of Quality Control at Nanjing MG, recently wrote an article on his blog comparing the MG7 to the Roewe 750, (if you’re in China, use this link) in the conclusion of his blog he that hinted as a merger between Nanjing MG and SAIC is looming, perhaps the Roewe will be re-branded as Austin cars, an older British marque that hasnt seen the light of day since 1989. Austin can be credited with creating the internationally famed mini (the original one, not the BMW inspired MINI) and the Austin Maestro and Austin Van which are still made to this day in China. Are we going to see an Austin W2 any time soon? Mr. Stowe certainly got our minds working overtime!