20 September 2008
Car fans flock to dealer for first MG

Summit Garage has the car for sale following the return of its production to the Longbridge plant in Birmingham.

A total of 75 cars have rolled off the production line destined for a number of garages around the UK and further afield.

Enthusiasts can choose from bright orange, red and black models today, priced at £16,399.

Boss of Summit Garage in Himley Road, Lower Gornal, has been inundated with calls from drivers keen to take a test drive in one of three MGs which left the factory.

John Newey was hopeful of clinching a sale on the first day.

“We have got a lot of people coming out for test drives,” he said. “There’s a lot of enthusiasts who want to see how this car compares with other MGs.

“I’ve been here for 28 years and seen various important new car launches over that time but I’ve never seen as much interest in a new model like this.”

The return of car production to Longbridge has been hailed as a huge boost to business in the region after well publicised troubles resulted in its closure in April last year.

SAIC/Nanjing, the Chinese owner, began production in Birmingham last month.

SOURCE: Express and Star.

7 September 2008
Longbridge is back in business

The assembly lines and vast factory spaces of Longbridge have lain idle for three years since the collapse of Rover.

But slowly, life is coming back to this famous old factory.

On a production line in the main building , a new version of the old Rover MG TF is being put together.

At the moment, work here is a shadow of the former glories of Longbridge.

When Rover came to an end in 2005 more than 6,500 people worked on the site, now there are just 180.

And a factory with the capacity to build almost 2,000 cars a week, is turning out just 48.

Along the production line a handful of workers gathers around a handful of bright shiny new cars, but stretching behind them, the huge space of an empty car factory.

Sheet lighting seems to emphasise the distances as it bounces off concrete floors and lights up girders and stairways stretching away into the distance.

And this is just one of 15 buildings on a 100 acre site.

But the new Chinese owners insist if all goes well, Longbridge will soon be making thousands of cars once again.

Deep pockets

So how can they succeed at a factory where so many other ventures have failed?

The Chinese say the answer is determination and deep resources.

Nanjing Automotive which bought Rover has merged with its Chinese rival Shanghai Automotive to create a giant car company.

Worth more than £20bn and making more than two million cars a year, it has deep financial pockets.

It sees Longbridge as a key factor in its plans to break into the European car market.

The company has already sunk £50m into the site. Small change for a giant corporation.

It's selling the new MG for £16,400 - the equivalent model in Rover days would have cost around £24,000.

The Chinese deny that they are selling the car at a loss, but admit it's a competitive price and one deliberately aimed at winning a foothold in the competitive car market.

Best of British

The body shells for the new sports car are made in China and shipped out for assembly in Britain.

But on the production line itself things look little different from any other car factory, with a team of fitters working on building up the car.

The new owners say it's a British car, designed by its British team of designers in Warwickshire and built by British workers but with foreign owners - a familiar enough story in the car industry.

Just 500 of this new high-spec MG are being built, but already more than four hundred have been sold.

When this production run comes to an end the factory will move onto producing a standard specification MG .

Beyond that there are plans for a whole family of other models for Longbridge.

The company is coy about saying what that means for employment, but says it aims to be producing up to forty thousand cars a year within the next three years.

There's little doubt that if that succeeded it would bring hundreds of new jobs.

But in such a competitive industry, with many European economies struggling and on a site that's faced so many problems in the past, turning Longbridge into a giant car maker once more will be no easy task.

SOURCE: BBC News (Link includes video).

2 August 2008
MG sports car back on the road

A FAMOUS British sports car yesterday began rolling off the production lines again – at a factory that once symbolised the motor industry’s troubles.

“MG is a uniquely British brand and this marks its reintroduction to the UK. MG owners, our huge band of enthusiasts and fans of the authentic sports car driving experience have also looked forward to this day for a long while.”

Continues....

SOURCE: Daily Express

Other stories:

Auto Week
The Telegraph
The Birmingham Post
More from the Birmingham Post

17 July 2008
Longbridge car shown to dealers

Dealers have been shown the first new car to be made at Birmingham's Longbridge plant since the collapse of MG Rover.

The limited edition MGTF sports car, designed more than 10 years ago, will go on sale in September at just over £16,000.

Chinese owners Nanjing revealed plans in May to produce up to four new models at the plant over the next five years.

About 6,000 jobs were lost when MG Rover collapsed in April 2005.

Nanjing has said the Longbridge plant would build standard models of the MGTF, which had been produced before the collapse, before work starts on a replacement for the car.

The Chinese company, which bought the MG Rover assets, has said the new models were also likely to include a large luxury family car.

The car will go on sale in September.

Click the link below to watch a video clip on the release.

SOURCE: BBC News

“When it was last available, the MG was the UK’s best selling small sports car. We are confident that the indicated demand for the return of the marque from dealers, enthusiasts and most importantly new customers will see it reclaim that position”.

SOURCE: NAC MG UK Ltd

From the BBC News Channel

"Longbridge to see new cars built
Cars are set to be made again at Birmingham's Longbridge plant - three years after the factory was shut.

Chinese owners Nanjing have revealed plans to produce up to four new models there over the next five years, with production starting on 1 August.

About 6,000 jobs were lost when MG Rover collapsed in April 2005.

The first vehicles off the production line, 500 limited edition MGTF sports cars, are expected to be delivered to showrooms in September.
...."

The same press release is to be found on the Express and Star, the Birminham Mail and CarPages.co.uk

It remains to be seen if there will be any of the initial 500 production run imported into New Zealand.

Also, Auto Express has an article about a new design TF that has the engine in the front, supposedly either a 1.8 Turbo or a 2.5li V6 of some description. Due for production in 2010. But the validity of this report must be taken with a large grain of salt at this time. But who knows? A front engined, RWD, MG with a V6 engine will probably sell bucket loads in the US. They may just be onto a winner here.

"Reborn MG TF is ready at last!
Revival of TF roadster shows the spirit of MG is still alive and well.