Nanjing MG said this week it is moving forward with its plans to re-introduce the MG brand to car buyers – first in China and then in the UK.
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Across China, 41 dealer launches are under way – with each newly appointed MG outlet holding its own events to mark the launch of both the brand and the new model. In China, that (initially) is the MG7 sedan, a revised and updated version of the Rover 75 derivative sold by now-defunct MG Rover as the MG ZT, and now in full series production in China, a UK-based spokesman confirmed to just-auto.
Even before the current launch events – and the announcement of specifications and prices – Nanjing MG had received more than 7,500 ‘notices of intention to place orders’ for the MG7 from Chinese customers, with around 1,250 being backed by advance deposits. The MG7 will eventually be sold in the UK and other European markets, as well.
In China, Nanjing MG is launching four versions – Comfortable, Luxury and Sporty (all using the 1.8-litre turbocharged I4 1.8T engine which, like the 2.5-litre K-series V6 in the flagship MG7L, is an updated unit made in China using tooling ‘lifted and shifted’ from the former Powertrain factory at Longbridge, near Birmingham – that facility has since been demolished to make way for a new industry park.
MG7 prices range from the equivalent of about GBP12,600 to GBP22,260.
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By GlobalDataYang Junhu, general manager of MG Commercial Company, said: “Due to their tradition of high quality and high performance, British cars have previously had a high price in China, putting them beyond the reach of many consumers. Now MG is producing such cars with a highly competitive cost advantage, making such performance and luxury fully affordable”.
Nanjing MG’s Chinese ‘4S’ dealer network is still expanding, with a further 60 or so locations yet to be chosen to provide full nationwide coverage across the vast country. (In China, dealerships are referred to as ‘4S’ outlets – for sales, service, spares and survey, the latter referring to customer feedback.)
Many of the new MG locations are built to the distinctive octagon design, and are modelled on an iconic building at Longbridge, the last UK home of the MG brand, though for enthusiasts of the brand’s classic sportscars, MG’s true home is Abingdon, site of the main factory, near Oxford. The factory closed in the early 1980s but an MG museum remains on the site, now an industrial park.
Nanajing MG said the launch of the marque in China, the first truly international brand to be owned by a Chinese manufacturer, “has created tremendous excitement” with “a raft of celebrities” queuing to own the first cars on the road. The first sale car was driven away from the showroom in the city of Nanjing (three hours north of Shanghai) by one of the country’s best known – and tallest – athletes, a 2m-high basketball player.
Nanjing city is home to Nanjing MG’s worldwide headquarters and its brand-new factory complex which houses vehicle assembly and engine building factories equipped with plant and technology acquired from the former MG Rover site in the UK.
British engineers – some former MG Rover employees – who helped move the equipment, set up the factory and update the engine designs, have commented on the Chinese engineers’ skill at turning a pile of crated machinery into a fully-functioning assembly line in just a few months.
Later this year, Nanjing MG will be reviving the TF convertible roadster in both China and the UK but the company still cannot say when production of sale cars will begin at Longbridge – it was previously scheduled for “September or October”.
A local source with knowledge of the company’s operations in China told just-auto: “They are in the final stages of putting the Rover 25 line into production as well and plan to launch this vehicle next year.
“The facilities, knowledge and enthusiasm are top notch, however, in a crowded market with old designs and having to compete against the already established players, I am not sure what penetration they can expect [but] they are ambitious.”
MG Rover’s MG-brand derivative of the 25 was called the ZR but it is not yet known what Nanjing will call its updated version though it is likely to use a single number again for continuity in the same way it re-named the MG ZT the MG7.
Graeme Roberts
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