In the MG-Rover fan circles, it was commonly felt that the Longbridge factory had been left to return to nature by its Chinese owners, but it seems that they have had plans for it all along. Hopefully now that SAIC are in charge of MG, they will be able to give more direction and turn out the Roewe 550 as an MG5 from the lines of Longbridge!
The below article from the Financial Times details SAICs plans for the long dormant factory. Click continue reading to see more!
Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) hopes to begin producing the MG TF two-seater in Nanjing in May and at its plant in Longbridge, UK, within three months of that date, a senior executive said yesterday.
But SAIC admitted the car’s long-awaited relaunch could be delayed again as it grapples with quality issues and rebuilds tooling bought in 2005 from bankrupt MG Rover and shipped to China by Nanjing Automobile (NAC), with which SAIC merged in December.
“We want to begin production of cars at Longbridge as soon as possible, but the first priority for us is the quality of the product,” Chen Hong, SAIC’s president, told the Financial Times yesterday.
“If we launch the product on the UK market and don’t have sufficient quality to meet customers’ expectations, we damage the brand.”
The relaunch of MG’s two-seater, which has a passionate UK and US following, will mark the highest-profile European debut for a Chinese-made car. SAIC has selected 50 dealers to sell the car, and distributed a teaser brochure with the slogan “A New Journey”.
MG is studying at least three new models, including a replacement for the TF, which it hopes to produce from 2010, Mr Chen said. However, the carmaker is still building a supply base in China and Europe that would allow it to meet European quality standards. About 70 per cent of the car, including its engines, will be made in China, and 30 per cent in Europe.
“From the point of view of SAIC, more time is needed for quality,” Mr Chen said.
Other Chinese carmakers, including Chery Automobile, have recently postponed export plans over qualityconcerns. Some Chinese cars exported to Germany have performed poorly in crash tests and been derided in the motoring press.
“They realise the eyes of the world are upon them,” a person close to SAIC’s management said yesterday.
SAIC is one of China’s biggest and most ambitious carmakers, and has joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
The Chinese are not renowned for quality, put it this way they have taken 2 years to get where Mg Rover were at the end of production. they had opportunity to work with Mg Rover and gain skills to produce these cars but blew it by being one of the key factors why Mg Rover went under and now blaming tool shipped 3000 miles across the sea, what a joke and poor workers always blame there tools!
This whole comment is a joke. You can’t just come in with a sweeping set of statements like this and pretend to be taken seriously. You have no idea what you are talking about.
hey at least they acknowledge that there are problems and they are still concerned about quality, otherwise they could have already produced the cars.
their top concern is still brand image and customer satisfaction.
I agree with this and Mememe’s comment. However, the longer they leave the relaunch or the more deadlines they miss and move back the more they are in danger of making MG a forgotten brand. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen.
“nohopeleft”, 1st post
You sound like a typical lazy western assembly line worker yourself. People like you are the reason the American auto industry has the quality, and personnel problems it has. The British auto industry is entirely foreign owned.
The Chinese are new players in the modern auto industry. In a few years they will catch up in quality and again lazy western workers like you, nohopeleft will be bitching that they are losing their jobs to the Asian countries. You indeed have “nohopeleft”.
Had there been a proper take over or merger I think it is inevitable that there would have been a gradual shift of large scale production to China. After all the City Rover was being bought in from Tata in India.
it seems like lazy, inefficient workers always blame other countries for outsourcing their jobs.
Sometimes, it’s not just all about lazy workers. Sometimes the managements lack of forward thinking can think that outsourcing saves money, when in fact it doesn’t. You can’t say British car workers are lazy as proven by the Honda, Nissan, Jaguar, Ford, Vauxhall, Rolls royce and Mini factories (not to mention the plethora of small manufacturers such as Lotus). Sometimes the workers may be lazy due to the nature of the company and not because they actally are lazy.
With all this confusion with what is happening with MG/Rover though SAIC and Nanjing- ongoing promises, letdowns, more promises- does anyone actually know what is actually happening. There have been reports for years suggesting that production was going to start again in the UK, and imports to the UK - but it has not. Just seems to be a lot of ongoing infighting which I expect will have just about killed off any remaining brand cred.
The trouble is when, and if UK sles or production do start the MGTF will be seriously out of date - it was too old in 2004!- The likes of the MX5 has moved on!
As for the MG7/Rover 75 - that again dates from the mid to late 90s and although it was good it was getting long in the tooth too.
I think the Chinese car industry still has a lot to learn (But it will learn fast!)about the value of brands, western quality standards and of course vehicle safety.
From what I have seen of the Roewe 550 - albeit in the photos on this website it looks very poor - hopfully in the flesh it will be better!
I just like to say that im a pompous idiot and I no nothing of how industry works I walk around thinking that my words actually mean something to someone and try to impose me views on others just like my nation these are the words of a idiot!