The range of MG TF sports cars offered by Chinese-owned NAC MG will be pruned to just a single engine-variant – a 135bhp 1.8-litre unit – making for a much-slimmed down range compared to that offered during the car’s popularity peak.
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Under the now-defunct MG-Rover, the TF was offered with four engine variants — a 115bhp 1.6, 120bhp 1.8 matched to a CVT gearbox and a range-topping 158bhp 1.8 VVC with variable valve-timing.
The 1.8 was by-far the most important engine in sales terms, though, contributing about 70% of volume, followed by the hotter VVC model with around 20%.
Confirming the slimmer model range, a NAC MG spokesman told just-auto: “Our only variant will be the 1.8, 135bhp and we won’t be building the VVC model”.
The 1.8-litre K-series engine and its PG1 five-speed gearbox will be supplied from China where it is built on a production line shipped from MG Rover’s former Longbridge outside Birmingham in central England.
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By GlobalDataAlso to be supplied from China is the instrument panel (IP), which will be moulded in the Far East.
Although body supplier Stadco is commissioning a new body-in-white operation at Longbridge, the imported componentry from China will mean that the ‘local content’ of the new TF will fall far below its high British-content under MG-Rover.
“We can’t give a specific figure for domestic versus overseas content yet,” said the spokesman, “although higher technical content such as the ECU [engine control unit] has been sourced here in the UK.”
Since the engine and gearbox typically represent 30% by value of a car, and the (IP) is also a high content part, the TF will struggle to reach 60% British content.
The first-generation BMW Mini had very low local content – 40% – thanks to a petrol engine supplied from Brazil, a diesel from Japan and many other parts sourced from Europe to keep costs down.
The Nanjing TF’s sales target will also be much smaller than the Rover-assembled car. Initial production estimates are for 3,000 cars annually, with 2000 for sale in the UK – between a fifth and a quarter of what its predecessor managed.
The MGF and, later, the updated TF consistently outsold the rival Mazda MX-5 in Britain, sales peaking in 2003 at 9,295 units.
Julian Rendell
MGF/TF production and UK sales
Year Prod UK sales
1995 2,300 800
1996 16,000 6,100
1997 13,400 7,600
1998 14,800 7,700
1999 10,400 6,000
2000 9,672 5,800
2001 10,500 7,700
2002* 14,000 7,900
2003 14,000 9,295
2004 11,000 7,600
2005 631 2,000**
*TF update
**Sales include cars built in previous years
